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THE CANADIAN
ENTOMOLOGIST.
6E(§ VOLUME VI. Ys
Edited by GA. Saunders,
LONDON, ONT.
ASSISTED BY
REV: C. |. S. BETHUNE, M.A., Port Hope, Ont.; J. M. DENTON, London, Ont. ;
and £. B. REED, Barrister-at-Law, London, Ont.
LONDON :
PRINTED BY THE FREE PRESS STEAM PRINTING COMPANY, RICHMOND ST.
1874
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Che Canadan Entomolonist.
VOL. VI. LONDON, ONT., JANUARY, 1874. No. I
EL DETOS I AT
In accordance with a time honoured custom, we heartily tender to
all our readers in this, the opening number of a new volume, the
compliments of the season—a happy and a prosperous new year. It is
meet at these annually recurring points in the history of cur journal that
we should briefly review the past, believing as we do that a recalling to
mind the advances we have made and the encouraging success which has
attended our efforts thus far will stimulate us to renewed exertion and
make us hopeful and trustful for the future. Five years ago the CANADIAN
ENTOMOLOGIST? made its first appearance as a small eight paged magazine.
Our members were scarcely sanguine enough to hope for a regular monthly
issue even of this size, so in the opening number its appearance was
promised occasionally, as material should accumulate; but our success
has been beyond our expectations, the issue of our journal has been
tolerably regular up to the present time; we have gradually increased its
size from eight to twenty pages ; have risen from common white paper to
finely finished toned paper, have embellished our pages with many
beautiful wood-cuts, and have presented to our readers from time to time
Entomological matter in such variety as we trust will have met the views
and wishes of all those who have favored us with their patronage. The
work which our late esteemed Editor has so successfully carried on we
shall, with his assistance and that of our other coadjutors, endeavour to
continue.
To those who have aided us by their valuable contributions to our
pages we are especially grateful, and we sincerely hope for a continuance
of these esteemed favors. Pressed as we are with a burden of other
work, we trust our friends will continue to forward their papers without
waiting for personal solicitation. We propose to continue the monthly
articles on our common insects, and also to furnish such gleanings in our
py} THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
summary as we think will interest the general reader, while at the same
time we shall endeavour to maintain for our journal that scientific
standing which gives it value in the eyes of so many of our co-laborers.
in the Entomological field.
We feel persuaded that our readers will not overlook the fact that this.
festive season is the time also for renewing their subscriptions ; money is
a motive power in our operations which we cannot overlook. ‘This gentle:
hint will no doubt be heartily responded to, and we trust that while our
members bear in mind their own liabilities in this matter, they will also:
try to induce as many of their friends as possible to join our ranks, so:
that the circulation of the ENromoLocist may be greatly increased.
ON SOME OF OUR COMMON INSECTS.
wm. THE TIGER SWALLOW TAIL—Fapilio turnus, Linn.
BYSebHE EDITOR.
Ajl our readers must have seen the large tiger swallow tail butterfly
floating about in the warm days of July and August, enjoying the
Me. A:
sunshine and sipping the honey from flowers. It is among our largest
and handsomest butterflies. In figure 1 we have an excellent represen-
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 3
tation of it. When its wings are expanded this insect will measure about
four inches across. The ground color of its wings is a pale lemon
yellow, which is banded and bordered with black ; on the fore wings are
four black bars, the inner one extending entirely across the wing, the
outer ones shortening more and more as they approach the apex. The
front margin is edged with black, and the outer margin has a wide border
of the same in which is set a row of eight or nine pale yellow spots, the
lower ones less distinct.
The hind wings are crossed by a streak of black which is almost a
continuation of the inner band on the fore wings ;_ there is a short black
streak a little beyond at the end of the discal cell, and a wide black
border widening as it approaches the inner angle of the wing. Enclosed
within this border and towards its outer edge are six lunular spots, the
upper and lower ones reddish, the others yellow; above and about these
spots and especially towards the inner angle of the wing, the black
bordering is thickly powdered with blue scales. The outer margin of the
hind wings is scalloped and partly edged with yellow; the inner margin
is bordered with dusky for about two-thirds of its length, followed by a
small yellow patch, which in turn is succeeded by a larger black spot
centered with a crescent of blue atoms and bounded below by an irregular
reddish spot margined within with yellow. The hind wings terminate in
two long black tails, edged on the inside with yellow. The body is black
above, margined with pale yellowish ; below yellowish streaked with
black. °
The under surface of the wings somewhat resembles the upper, but is.
paler.
This species passes the winter in the chrysalis state, and appears first
on the wing from the middle to the latter end of May, but becomes much
more plentiful during July. Whether these July insects are a second
brood, or whether the bulk of the chrysalids which have wintered do not
mature until about this time we are unable to determine ; individuals.
which we have wintered over have escaped from chrysalis as late as the
3rd of June.
The eggs of ¢urnus are deposited singly on the leaves of the different
plants or trees on which the larva feeds. They are between one-twentieth
and one-twenty-fifth of an inch in diameter, sub-globular, flattened at the
place of attachment ; colour dark green, surface smooth, without
reticulations, but showing a few small irregularly distributed spots under
4 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
a magnifying power of forty-five diameters. In about ten or twelve days
they begin to change colour, becoming darker, and very dark just before
the young larve are hatched.
When fresh from the egg the larva is about one-tenth of an inch
long, with a large black head and with a black body roughened with
small brownish black tubercles. The second segment is elevated or
thickened and of a dull glossy flesh colour, with a prominent fleshy
tubercle on each side and a patch of white on the seventh and eighth
segments, wide anteriorly, pointed behind ;~ there is also a dull flesh
coloured streak along the back on fourth and eleventh segments. The
twelfth segment has a pair of fleshy tubercles rather prominent, but not
so large as those on the second; both those on the second and twelfth
have several short whitish hairs arising from them. The under surface is
brownish black, with the feet and prolegs of the same colour.
The full grown larva, see figure 2, taken July 14th, measured one and
a half inches in length. Its head is rather large and of a reddish brown
Fig. 2,
colour, sprinkled with very
short white hairs.
The body above,green, of a
-~ slightly darker shade on the
é22- anterior segments, paler on
the sides of the body, over which there is a whitish bloom produced by a
multitude of very minute white dots, with small short hairs of the same
colour issuing trom them; the anterior segments of the body are
wrinkled. On the front edge of the second segment is a raised yellow
fold slightly overhanging the head, and on each side of the fourth
segment is an eye-like spot, nearly oval in shape, yellow, encircled with a
ring of black, centered with a small elongated blue dot, which is also set
in black and has above it on each side a black line nearly crossing the
yellow spot. On the hinder portion of the fifth segment is a raised
yellow fold, bordered behind with rich velvety black, the latter visible
only when the larva is in motion; on the terminal segment is a similar
fold flattened above, with a slight protuberance on each side. On the
fifth segment, in front of the yellow fold, are two blue dots, one on each
side of the dorsal line ; there are also faint traces on the hinder segments
of a continuation of these dots in longitudinal rows.
The under surface is of a paler green than the upper, with a whitish
bloom ; prolegs of the same colour, feet tipped with brown.
THE CANADIAN ENTMOLOGIST. 5
ww
As the larva approaches maturity and is about to change to a
chrysalis, the colour of the body gradually grows darker until it becomes
dark reddish brown, the sides’nearly black. The minute whitish granu-
lations and the blue dots become much more distinctly visible, giving the
larva a very different appearance. It then selects some suitable spot in
which to pass the chrysalis state, where it spins a web of silk in which its
hind feet are entangled, and having prepared and stretched across a silken
band to sustain its body in the middle, it casts its larva skin and remains
a dull brownish chrysalis until the following spring.
This insect is widely distributed, being found throughout the greater
portion of the United States and Canada. ‘The larva feeds on a number
of different trees, but chiefly affects with us the apple, cherry, thorn and
basswood.
THE USE OF APHIS-EXCRETION AND BENEFIT DERIVED
THEREFROM.
BY THCMAS G. GENTRY, GERMANTOWN, PA.
It is well known to the popular as well as scientific world that the
Aphides secrete or rather excrete a peculiarly viscid and honey-like fluid
which forms one of the chief delicacies of Ants. That it was originally
designed to form an article of food for the latter is a supposition that
cannot be entertained for a single moment ; but that it is in some way
connected with the preservation of the soft and tender beings by which
it is manufactured, there can be no reasonable doubt. Various opinions
have been hazarded, and not a few theories devised to account for its
probable origin and use and the material benefit which it secures to the
authors thereof, but these have been of such an unsatisfactory character
as not to merit the approval of the learned.
While some writers have surmised its application to be connected in
some way with the wants of the newly-born 4f/is, still the lack of
evidence confirmatory of any such surmise has caused it to fall into
neglect and disuse.
That this fluid has both a primary and a secondary purpose to subserve -
in the economy of the plant louse is a fact the truth of which stands off
as gross as black from white. Recently, while engaged in the study of the
6 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Aphis which particularly infests the blossoms of Cucurbita ovifera, 1 had
the happy satisfaction of being a witness of a phenomenon which
promised to solve the knotty problem. After a few moments of calm and
deliberate reflection upon what I observed, the entire theory, the
details of which I am about to delineate, became almost intuitively
outlined upon my mind.
Feeding upon the flowers of this plant were hundreds of lice, the
groupings of which not even a careless and hasty observer could fail to
detect. ‘There, like the patriarchal tribes we read about, were observable
group after group, each composed ef a head and a family of children of
diverse ages and sizes. In the arrangement the young and newly-born, as
if requiring the first care and earliest attention of the mother, were closely
in her rear, the proximity to her presence in the case of the residue being
apparently determined by theirage.
While intently scrutinizing the actions of the various groups, one little
fellow was observed to caress its parent by means of its antenne, as if
soliciting the bestowal of a favor. After the lapse of some few seconds
the mother, acting in obedience to the child’s wishes as thus expressed,
slowly elevated the posterior part of her abdomen and ejected a honey
drop upon the head of the latter, apparently to its infinite delight and
satisfaction. It is my honest opinion, evidenced by repeated observations,
that it is only during the first two days of the life of the offspring that
this process of feeding is necessary, the digestive organs at this period
being too feeble and delicate to partake of the strong juice of the flower
without the entailment of injury. But after undergoing remarkable
changes in the alimentary laboratory it becomes deprived of its injurious
properties and rendered fit for the sustenance of life.
In conjunction with the previous discovery I remarked that the older
and stronger seldom, if ever, deviated from the path over which their
maternal head had passed, but seemed to find their chief good attained
by following closely therein. It seems just to conclude that this would
not be if they were amply qualified to look after their own temporal
welfare ; but on the ground that parental provision and attention are still
indispensable, the reason is obvious. f
Plant lice being vigorous feeders, the manufacture and excretion of
this fluid would necessarily be very great and profuse, and as nature does
not work in yain, it might be argued that it is a sort of compensation
which the insect lavishes upon the plant for the losses which it
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 7
momentarily sustains. But to this opinion I cannot assent, as experience
‘teaches me that the plant does not receive the least benefit therefrom.
Even if it possessed any healing virtues, these could not manifest any
‘marked effects, owing to the very rapid multiplication of the lice, which
-are constantly probing the wounds by means of their puctorial apparatus
-and thus serving to heighten instead of lightening the evil. Viewing the
‘subject in this light, nature would seem to be defeating her own ends.
It is true that these highly mischievous creatures are slightly held in
-check by a few species of the Ichneumonide, Syrphidze and Coccinel-
lide, but their rate of increase is so enormously out of proportion to the
number of their enemies that very little good results to plants.
From the preceding remarks it is evident to the mind of every candid
‘reasoner that plants receive no material advantage from this excretion. It
now remains to indicate its use. ‘That it is of great service to the newly
born Af/is, totally unfitted as it is both by nature and by structure to
imbibe the strong, yet sometimes acrid and bitter fluids of plants, there
-can be no doubt. But as the supply is clearly above the requirements of
such, why the excess? Most assuredly to serve as padulum for their
-stronger companions. How? By uniting with the plant’s forced
excretion, thus diluting and rendering it a suitable material for imbibition
.and digestion. ‘That its primary use is to serve as food for the lice during
their early existence I think from the argument adduced must be obvious
to all.
That a secondary purpose also is subserved thereby, to wit, the
preservation of the species, there are just grounds for belief. It is well
known to naturalists that ants do not merely possess a fondness for
“sugar, gums and saccharine solutions, but that they also manifest a
‘decided penchant for the rich juices and tender tissues of animals; the
liquids aud solids of humbler forms of insect life being sought after and
-Gevoured with avidity, save when the animals possess some peculiar
properties that recommend them to the mercy of their enemies.
There is no doubt that the soft and juicy Aphis, which is esteemed
such a rich morsel of food by the Coccinella, was primitively as delicious
to the Formica, and that it shared equally with other feeble creatures of
its class the murderous assaults of the latter. This condition of things
-doubtless continued for ages, until there appeared on the scene an ant
-possessed of more Sagacity than any of its fellows.
8 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
This ant having discovered the hidden virtues of the Apis excretion:
there would dawn a new era in the history of the two species. The news.
of this discovery would doubtless become diffused not only through the
colony of which this ant formed a part, but through the entire species and
kindred species, for the Aormicid@, as is well known, exhibit in a remark-.
able manner the power of communicating their thoughts, wishes, &c., to
each other.
As ants are endowed with a high degree of intelligence, considering
the place which they occupy in the scale of created existence, they would
not be slow to perceive that their chief good would be best attained by
taking under protection the little creatures which are the authors of this
luxury. From this time the ants would gradually abandon their:
sanguinary propensities, and little by little manifest their solicitude and.
regard for the latter by gentle strokes and caresses. The lice in turn:
perceiving the latter’s disposition to friendliness, would cease by degrees:
to regard them as enemies, and would learn to cater to their physical.
wants. Thus would be developed these amicable relations which are-
known to exist between them, and which so admirably tend to their
mutual good.
MICRO-LEPIDOPTERA.
BY V. T. CHAMBERS, COVINGTON, KENTUCKY.
Continued from Page 232, vol, v.
BUTALIS.
B. fuscicomella, Clem.
B. flavifrontella, Clem.
Both of these species occur abundantly in this locality; but the-
latter (my specimens can be nothing else) has the apical vein furcate-
before the apex, whilst Dr. Clemens says that it is simple. Mr. Stainton-
says it may be B. dasilaris, Zeller.
B. matutela? Clem.
I am not altogether certain that my specimens belong to this species:
which I know only by Dr. Clemen’s description. The neuration of the-
wings in my specimens is the same with that of Dr. Clemen’s species as;
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Sp
given by him ; but there are some structural points in which it differs from
Butalis, and Dr. Clemens’ specific description is applicable to ecnly a
small proportion of individuals out of the many that I have examined.
My specimens have been bred from laryae found mining the leaves of the
great hog weed (Ambrosia trifda) and various species of Aster (A.
ericowes and A. sagittifolius). It spins a small web on the under side of
the leaf from which it passes into the leaf, eating out the parenchyma in
small patches. It makes several mines before passing into the pupa
state. The mine is at first convoluted, narrow and filled with frass, but
soon becomes a clear transparent blotch somewhat lke the mine of
Bedellia somnulentella in leaves of the morning glory (/pomea). It pupates
in a dense web which it spins around itself,and which is but slightly
attached to the surface of the leaf.
In the imago state the tongue is scaled at the base only, the wings are
carried slightly deflexed in repose instead of being folded around the
body as in the true species of Bufalis. The primaries have only three
instead of four veins beneath the apical one, and the head is rather less.
obtuse and is scarcely at all retracted. I had at first inclined to erect for
it a new genus, and specimens in my cabinet were labelled Sinoe
ambrosiaeella, and have been distributed to some correspondents under
that name. The neuration of the wings is very similar to that of the
genus 4ydia, but the palpi are very different.
The imago is shining bronzy dark brown, with a purplish tinge.
Usually there is a whitish yellow spot on the fold of variable size, some-
times spreading to the dorsal margin, sometimes scarcely discernible, and
sometimes absent: there is alwaysa distinct streak of the same hue at
the beginning of the dorsal cilia, and a white patch on the abdomen
beneath near the apex. AZ ex. % inch.
The larva is at first white with green contents ; then a small black
spot appears on each side of the first segment, and afterwards a series or
line of similar spots extends along the entire length of the larva and
ultimately they become purple. In the later larval stages a purple line
appears on each side of the median one. There isa small blackish spot
behind each eye. In the adult larva the 9th and roth segments become
purple on top and the purplish longitudinal lines above mentioned are
connected on the posterior margin of each segment by a transverse band
of the same hue. It has sixteen feet, the thoracic ones being piceous. It
may be found in all of its stages from June until the fall of the leaves.
10 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
ARGYRESTHIA.
A. oreasella. Clem.
Mr. Stainton states in his edition of the Clemens papers that this is
the European A. andereggiella. It is the only species of the genus hereto-
fore described from this country. I have never met with it in this locality
but have received from Mr. Wm. Saunders several specimens with the
information that they were all taken whilst resting on the leaves of a
thorn bush (Crategus ————?). In my specimens there is nothing
that can be called an ‘ eye cap’ only a few long scales pendant over the
eyes from the elongate basal point of the antennze, and the body, wings
and antenne more slender than in the species described below as A,
undulatella. ‘The neuration of the wings in orease//a is exactly that given
by Mr. Stainton (Jus. Brit. Lep. Tin., v. 3) for A. nitidella.
A. undulatella. N. sp.
Not having recognized this as a true Aveyresthia formerly, it was
labelled in my cabinet Chalciope undulatella, and has been distributed to
some correspondents under that name, and also under the names Polyxo
undulatella and Albunea undulatella.
It is more robust than ovease//a, the primaries are wider, the tuft on the
vertex is larger, the basal joint of the antennez is enlarged and has a
distinct eye cap; the antenne are much more robust and each joint is
clothed with rather spreading scales so that it is enlarged towards its apex,
the succeeding joint being inserted in the centre of its apex.
The neuration of the primaries is like that of orcased/a, but in the
secondaries the discal vein is absent from the subcostal to the first branch
of the discal, so that the cell is partly unclosed.
I have named the species wndulatella from its habit of ‘ see-sawing’ on
its middle legs before it comes to rest in the attitude of the other species
of the genus, resting on its head with the apex of the body and wings
projecting at an obtuse angle to the object on which it rests. It is very
sluggish and not easily disturbed. It is found in considerable numbers
in May resting on the trunks of Elm trees. ‘The larva is unknown.
A. undulatella. N. sp.
Palpi brownish, at base white ; face white around the mouth, brownish
above. Tuft and eye caps snowy white. Antennae checkered with
alternate black and white spots. ‘Thorax and dorsal half of the primaries
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, ll
snowy white; costal and apical portions brownish or dark brown, some-
‘times dusted with white and sometimes (usually) with streaks of the white
extending into the brown portions, sometimes so as to divide it into two
or three brownish costal streaks. There is great variety in the shade and
proportions of the whitish and brownish portions of the wing, but snow
white is the characteristic color of the basal and dorsal parts and brown-
ish of the costal and apical parts, with the line between them more or
less emarginate. A/ ex. %3 inch. Kentucky.
A. apici-maculella. LN. sp.
In this species the eye cap is as distinct as in wndilate//a, but the stalk
is simple and slender as in orease/da. The neuration of the primaries is
that given by Mr. Stainton for A. arceuthina (loc. :it.) Inthe second-
aries it is the inferior portion of the discal vein that is absent instead of
the superior, as in wvdulatella ; that is the portion next to the median
vein.
Shining silvery white, each joint of the antennae (except the basal
one) is dotted above with dark brown. Primaries with a blackish or
dark prown shining almost triangular spot at the apex, with three pale
and indistinct brownish costal streaks before it ; the first of these streaks
is the shortest and most indistinct, and is placed at the beginning of the
ciliae. The second is a little more distinct and sometimes extends
entirely across the wing, and the third one always does so after dividing
into two branches just before the apical spot. ‘These streaks are usually
more or less interrupted and sometimes spread over the apex so that it
might perhaps be more correctly described as dusted than streaked.
There is a bright though pale golden basal streak just within the costal
margin. A/. sx. 34 inch. Kentucky, in oak woods, in June and July.
THE FAMILIES OF DIPTERA.
BY FRANCIS WALKER, LONDON, ENGLAND.
The two-winged flies are more important in nature than any other
order of insects because of their number and diffusion, and the families
may be briefly traced in succession previous to a more extended notice
of each of them, in case the subject should become more interesting.
Be THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
DoS ee es = : —— ae —— —__—$—=_ $$ SCE ee
Family 1, PULICID®.
+ 2, MYCETOPHILID-.
In the following arrangement the first manifestation of Dipterous:
existence is associated with the inmost recesses of man’s habitation, and
a few beasts and birds aiso partake of its presence in their dwellings. In
this form it has some perfections in which it exceeds all the rest of the
race, being unequalled in strength and in activity and in endurance of
pressure. ‘The dismissal of this wingless fly will be readily accepted, and’
there is a wide gap between it and the next form of Dipterous life
wherein it is transferred to the fungoid-race, and here its work is to
appropriate and elaborate the substance of the fungus and to raise it to
its own level, and this will be said to be just contrary to the first scene in
which it reduces the circulation of the vertebrata to its own purposes. In
the second scene the fly has in some cases much resemblance in the body
and in the legs to the first family, but the strength and the activity are
comparatively passed away, and the structure of the mouth is much
changed and much less effective ; however, it has 4 compensation in the
possession of wings. Even in the small extent of England there is yet
much to learn about the fungus-flies, but there is a much wider field for
observation in Canada and in the more northern regions of America
where the gradual diminution and cessation of the race may be traced.
Winnerty has contributed much more than any one else to the history of
this family, and his synopsis of the sub-families is here translated :
A—Middle transverse vein elongated.
a— Brachial vein wantmgiee .... 20a. hee t Diadocidinz
b—Brachial vein present.
*—_Antenne not very long.
7 Bracival vein long. cece. . «01+ fine ccaelate olaus ....2 Mycetobine
+ T—Brachial vein Shortie - « .. snecsen Xe oo tepieek 3 Ceroplatinz
* *__ Antenne very long.
+—Antenne setiform.......... en ..4 Bolitophiline:
+ t—Antenne filiform...... Sao Beene ee eee »e..5 Macrocerinze
B—Middle transverse vein not eloneateal
a—Brachial vein present.......... 5 oli lala ie eee ....-6 Sciophilinz
b—Brachial vein wanting.............. weeeeeee 7 Mycetophilinz
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. LS
NOTES ON NOCTUID.
BY AUG. R. GROTE,
Curator of Articulata, Buffalo Soc. of Natural Sciences.
Asrotis badinodis, Grote.
ft. Antenne pectinate. All the tibiz armed or spinose. Abdomen
a little flattened. Body slender; wings ample and wide. Nearest to
Agrotis collaris, but with wider wings, and larger and differently colored.
Smooth, pale brown. ‘Transverse lines even, with coincident pale
shades. Basal halfline evident ; on the sub-basal space a pale dot
followed by darker scales situate on median nervure. ‘Transverse anterior
line straight, touching the broader superior portion of the large orbicular
-on subcostal nervure, and leaving on the disc an intensely blackish brown
space to obtain between the narrower lower portion of the orbicular and
the line. Reniform, like the orbicular, concolorous, with narrow pale
edging, hardly as large as the orbicular and broader below than above.
Space between the spots deep, faintly reddish brown, deepening to median
nervure. The diffuse median shade apparent below median nervure.
‘Claviform large, concolorous, indistinctly limited. ‘Transverse posterior
line even, regularly arcuate, much as in co//aris. Subterminal space dark
reddish brown; subterminal line faint, narrow, irregular, pale ; terminal
space paler, less reddish brown than the subterminal. ‘Terminal line
broken into minnte dots ; fringes dark.
Hind wings concolorous, dark silky fuscous, with pale fringes. Beneath
with a reddish brown tinge ; a common diffuse fuscous line, and a dark
discal spot on the hind wings which are palest and notably irrorate. Collar
-dark, thorax pale brown ; abdomen like hind wings. Axfanse, 35 m. m.
Flabitat, Maryland (coll. Lintner, No. 2506.)
The antennal pectinations are longer than in ¢angulum, the color
-different, the orbicular differently shaped.
Leurots occulta.
I have determined this species in the collection of Mr. Lintner, from
New York, and in that of the Laval University, Quebec. It is a robust
form, resembling Mamestra nimbosa in appearance, but structurally
“distinguished by the naked eyes, spinose fore tibize and excavated genital
14 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
ee = —— ne
pieces. It should be considered as the type of Hubner’s genus Zurois,a
name which has priority over A//ecta, and is cast for the same species,
most of which, as Lederer has shown, are not properly separable from
Mamestra. Polyphaenis seems to me equally valid with £urozs,; Iam not
therefore agreed with v. Heineman’s fusion of the species of the two.
genera under the name of Afleta. ‘The late Mr. Walsh has already
referred to this species as found in this country. ‘The list of species.
common to both continents, given in the Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil., vol. 3, p.
214, contains, however, several errors of different kinds, and is therefore:
unreliable.
Luperina rentformis, Grote.
t 2. Eyes naked, without lashes. Tibiz all unarmed. Manxillae
weaker than in adena. Abdomen conical, apparently without tufts in
the 2, with longer dorsal depressed scales in the %, in either sex not
with the thick squamation of Hadena. A little larger than Hyd. sera,
which it resembles, but is more blackish, and the reniform is contrastedly
annulate with white scales which usually extend along veins 3 and 4 at
base, as in Haworthi. Beneath the thoracic squamation is somewhat
woolly. Blackish brown; suhterminal space usually contrasting by its
pale ochreous color. Median space wide. Orbicular an oblique finely
and faintly pale ringed annulet, concolorous with the wing. Claviform
indistinct, black. | Reniform very narrow, its base visible between veins 3.
and 4, neatly ringed with pure white, preceded by a pale vertical streak
which appears to cover the closure of the cell, but which is probably part
of the true outer annulus of the spot. Median shade black, irregular,
faint. T. p. line accentuated on the nervules, even, pale between double
lines, not retreated on cell 2, followed by black nervular dots on the
subterminal space. Subterminal line preceded by a dark brown shade
which shows some more determinate shade marks, produced opposite the
median nervure. Terminal space black, narrow. Interspaceal terminal
black dots. ‘The narrow brown fringes cut with pale at extremity of the
veins. Hind wings pale fuscous with soiled veins, beneath with distinct
dot and faint transverse line. Varies by the darkening of the subterminal
space, and obsolescence of the pale scales on the median nervules.
Antennnez simple in both sexes. xfanse36m.m. Habitat Canada ;,
New York (Mead, No. 120; Lintner, No. 3588 and No. 3741 var.)
Collection of Buffalo Society N. Sciences.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 1
i
Fadena fractilinea, Grote.
2. Eyes naked, with lashes. Thorax with anterior and posterior
crests ; the dorsal abdominal tufts are minute. Legs unarmed. Size
moderate ; squamation smooth. Dull blackish and very pale dull carneous
brown. ‘The pale color obtains along the internal margin of the fore
wings and largely subterminally, extending to the apices without the
undulate ferruginous subterminal line. The blackish color obtains at
base and superiorly along costal region, and surmounting the pale
subterminal space and over the constricted terminal space. The contrast
between the two tints is variably strong, the blackish color becomes in
some specimens dull brownish and the pale tint obscure and dusky. The
median space is blackish above submedian fold, narrowed inferiorly ; the
ordinary spots small, orbicular concolorous with a fine pale annulation,
reniform with the centre of the paler shade of the wing, with a dark
internal streak. Transverse posterior line incompletely geminate,.
followed by a series of minute black and pale nervular dots. The twice
prominently undulated subterminal is preceded by a more or less obvious
ferruginous shade. Fringes black, narrowly cut with pale at the
extremity of the veins. Hind wings concolorous brownish grey, rather
dark, without lines; fringes pale with a narrow dark internal line. Beneath
paler, dusted with dark scales, with a purplish or carneous tinge and a
tolerably distinct exterior common line, more denticulately waved on
secondaries. Patagia mixed with blackish scales; disc and tufts paler,
touched with ferruginous ; abdomen like hind wings. Zxfanse, 28 to 30
m.m. Habitat, Canada (Pettit, No. 1594); Albany (Lintner, Nos. 3568
and 1998). Much smaller and distantly recalling rvea in the disposition
of the colors. It has apparently also a resemblance to the European
Agrotis putris, but is generically distinct, and differs by the dark opaque
secondaries.
Hadena cariosa.
Xylophasta cariosa, Guenee, p. 144.
The median lines are more distinct than in its immediate allies. The
median space is narrowed inferiorly, the large claviform extends to the
transverse posterior line.
Cerastis alternata.
Noctua alternata, Grote, Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil., Vol. III.
Eastern States ; New York; Pennsylvania.
16 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
—_——
Cerastis cupida.
Noctua cupida, Grote, Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil., Vol. III.
Eastern States ; New York; Pennsylvania.
Telesilla cinereola.
This species is the //acedes cincrevla of Guenee, but the generic name
had been previously used, and Herrich-Schaffer in consequence proposed
the present designation for the European amethystina, and which should
be retained for our species. Lederer’s term Zucarta is later and has
been withdrawn, in favor of Zélesz//a, by its author. Hubner enumerates
the European species under Trigonophora, the type of which is quite
distinct structurally from Ze/eseVla amethystina.
Plusia gamma, (Linn).
Habitat, California (Hy. Edwards, No. 147).
I cannot distinguish the American specimens specifically. ‘This
species has been credited to Canada by Kirby (p. 307), and also to
Hudson’s Bay by Mr. Walker, in the British Museum Lists.
Adipsophanes miscellus, Grote.
Flabitat, California (Hy. Edwards, No. 187).
ENTOMOLOGICAL READINGS,
Suggestive and Reftective.
BY W. V. ANDREWS, NEW YORK.
“There are no satisfactory distinctions between some of the moths
which enable any one to say that they are of such and such species, and
very frequently they are separated into different kinds because they happen
to feed on various plants, and because the moths are not all colored in
the same manner. Of course the Entomologists that believe in the real
nature of species have taken a vast deal of trouble with the Noctuina, but
those who do not think a species to be anything more than an abstract
idea, and that it really consists of the sum of the variations of a closely
allied series of forms, do not see the use of this Natural History hair
splitting.” —Duncan’s Transf. of Insects, p. 125.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. kZ
“ Many naturalists have observed that the species of So/enodia, one of
the Tineidz, have a most exceptional power of reproduction. The
maiden females of the genus lay eggs which can be hatched so as to
produce larvz, and a naturalist may breed a species for years without
seeing a male So/enobia. This extraordinary fact is not without parallel
amongst the Lepidoptera * - * and it is common among the
bees and the aphides.”—Duncan’s Transf. of Insects, p. 146.
Nore.—To many persons there will be, I hope, nothing new in the
above statement, but there are more to whom it will not only be new but
also incredible. In this connection I wish to state an occurrence, which,
although not quite conclusive in its character, may, if known, recall to
others similar occurrences with the same species, and they may have met
with more definite results.
Two years ago, wishing to rear several broods of Zacles imperialis, I
placed a female of that. species in a favorable situation for attracting the
male. I had forgotten whether the male usually remained in the company
of the female for a long or a short time, and watched pretty closely till 1
o’clock a. m., for the purpose of ascertaining that fact.
I was much chagrined to find that at none of my visits was there any
male visible. I was up betwixt 3 and 4 o’clock, a. m., still no male; and
at broad daylight the result was the same. The female had, however, laid
on the branches of the tree on which she was confined about thirty eggs,
and although I considered them worthless, I put them into a small box
without quite knowing why. I removed the female the next night toa
still more promising spot, hoping that the eggs remaining in her might still
be impregnated. No trace however of a male was visible, but, by the
next morning, she had laid a quantity of eggs which I secured as
before.
Every one of these eggs were fertile ; but now comes the curious part
of the matter. Every one of the larvae were of the dark brown variety,
not a green one amongst them.
Now what I would like to learn is this: Does any one know of any
case in which zfericlis has produced fertile eggs without male assistance
and, if so, what color were the larvae ?
18 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
CORRESPONDENCE.
San Francisco, Cat, Nov., 1873.
DEAR SIR,—
Many printed pages you devote to the question of nomenclature and
rights of priority of generic and specific names. Allow me a small space in
your columns to say a word in no way personal, still from a different
point of view, yet with deference to the contending opinions.
In the first place I would claim a general acknowledgement for such
compilers of entomological material as have in an exhaustive way at their
time—so far as exhaustion is possible—published the results of their
researches, and which compilations form entireties of certain large groups
of insects. I will refer to only a few, among them Burmeister, for his
Rhynchosa and Gymnognatha ; Gyllenhall, for his North European Cole-
optera ; Harold and Gemminger’s Munich Catalogue of the World’s
Coleoptera; also, Ochsenheimer and Freitschke’s work on Lepidoptera
of Europe, this latter one so complete with Geometridz and Micros.
All these compilers have worked with the full understanding of the
value of generic names come down to them from earlier authorities, have
been guided by the wish of letting Linne’s and other great author’s earliest
names stand for the typical genus, giving room at the same time where, by
newer discoveries, new genera had necessarily been created, for their
interpolation. ‘The great completeness of these published compilations,
based upon conscientious researches, is what has created, if not all over
the world, at least in Europe, the use and endearment of certain generic
names that in my opinion might be everywhere respected, and will, I
hope, everywhere and for ever be adopted. I see no necessity of going
further back than the authority of such great compilers, even if a few
errors of judgment, as likely, have occurred.
To restrict my observations to Lepidoptera only, I will here especially
refer to Ochsenheimer and Freitschke’s work of wonderful completeness ;
it treats of European Lepidoptera only. The European Fauna has its
representatives all the world over, and it is around and between European
genera that the world’s new species have to be ranged, whether or not the
formation of new genera becomes necessasy. Such ground work or basis
for a complete series of classes and genera as O. & F. have compiled
might, in my opinion, be followed up and their generic names without
omission be adhered to. Addressing American Entomologists, I would
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 19
allow myself the question: Might not all controversy about generic
names, whether from earlier or later editions of Linne’s or from other early
authorities, be dropped, and all punctilious adhesion to priority be
dismissed ; might not the long-familiar names on the strength of above
named second-hand authorities be with safety fixed upon as final and
generally acknowledged ?
Yours respectfully,
JAMES BEHRENS.
P. S.—It would be well if the authors of new created generic names
would give their Greek or Latin derivations.
HABITAT, ECONOMY, ETC., OF AGROTIS FENNICA, EVERSMAN.
SPRING BANK, ST. CATHARINES, ONT., DEC. 22, 1873.
DEAR SIR,—
I am very anxious to obtain information respecting Agrotis fennica,
Eversman, whether it is an abundant species in any part of Canada or the
United States, and, being a stranger in this country, would be very
thankful would any gentleman conversant with the insect, kindly aid me
in the pages of the Can. ENT., by any information he may posess touching
its economy in the larval state, food plant, time of year when the imago
is found, or any other necessary details.
Finally, should any Entomologist have duplicate specimens to spare, I
need scarcely say they will be very acceptable, and later on in the season
I will do my best in return to repay the obligation, and send an equivalent
in any desirable species from this neighborhood.
1 have read with much interest the articles on collecting in late
numbers of the Can. ENT., especially as my experience with cyanide of
potassium as a killing material induced me years ago to abandon that
method. I had the material both in tight-fitting boxes and glass-stoppered
bottles, in all cases the cyanide being covered with a stratum of plaster
of Paris. Asa killer it does admirably, but, according to my experience,
it renders the moths so rigid that in setting the wings are very lable to
be torn in lifting them into position. This method of killing with cyanide
was, indeed, condemned years ago in England owing to this very cause.
GEO. NORMAN.
20 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
ZOOLOGICAL Museum, CAMBRIDGE, U.S., DEc. 20.
DEAR SIR,— \
I have commenced to study and arrange the Coleoptera in the
Museum, and hope to get help on all sides, and shall be particularly glad
to see specimens in the less studied groups. At present I have finished
the N. American Phytophaga, and hope to work at the Staphylinide ere
long. I also want to see all the Dytiscidae that I can, as it is only by a
long series that much can be done. Irhall be glad to hear from any one
interested in exotic insects, also. Yours truly,
G. R. Crorcu.
LARVA OF P. BREVICAUDA.
We extract the following from a letter recently received from Mr.
Edwards :—Miss Peart has drawn the larvaof drevicauda. It differs from
astertas larva in that the black transverse bands are broken, and no yellow
spots are between them; the lowest black spot is triangular, and so to
each band. It is more like zolicaon, although that has yeilow spots. The
point is that it is not asvertas.
W. H. Epwarps, Coalburgh, W. Va., 18th Nov., 1873.
BOWsaN OLTITCES:
Hackberry Butterflies. Descriptions of the early stages of Apatura Lycaon, Fabr. and Apatura Herse,
Fabr., with remarks on their synonymy, from the Trans. St. Louis Acad. Science. 8 vo., pp. 14,
with four illustrations by Chas. V. Riley, M. A., Ph. D., St. Louis.
On Platypsyllide, a new family of Coleoptera, from the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London,
8 vo., pp. 6, with one plate, by J. L. Le Conte, M. D.
Seltsame Geschicte eines Tagfalters, von Samuel H. Scudder.
Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol. xv, parts 3 and 4, Dec., ’72 to April, ’73.
Nature, to December 11th.
Science Gossip, December.
American Naturalist, December, 1873, January, 1874.
Canada Farmer, December 15 and 30.
Prairie Farmer to Dec. 27.
The Horticulturist, Nov. and Dec..
Rural New Yorker to Jan., ’73.
American Agriculturist, Jan.
Maine Farmer to Dec. 27.
Che Canadwn Entomologist.
VOL. VI. LONDON, ONT., FEBRUARY, 1874. No. 2
THE FOOD-PLANTS OF EUROPEAN BUTTERFLIES.
BY S. H. SCUDDER, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
Kaltenbach is publishing a work entitled Die Pflanzen-Feinde aus der
Classe der Insecten, two parts of which have appeared and carry the
investigation through the willows. He enumerates all the German insects
known to feed upon particular plants ; annotated lists of more than three
hundred species of insects are sometimes ascribed to a single tree. Among
these are many butterflies, and by collating them I have prepared the
following list, believing that, as it is fuller than any yet published, it will
be of great service to those who are endeavoring to discover or extend
the histories of our own butterflies. As soon as the work of Kaltenbach
is completed, a supplement will be prepared to this list. The nomen-
clature of the butterflies is altered to make it accord with Staudirger’s
last catalogue.
1. Apatura iris—Salix caprea, S. aurita.
a. i eia—Salix, Populus tremula, P. dilatata.
oe oe ‘“* var. c/ytie—Populus tremula, P. canescens.
4. Limenitis populi—Populus tremula.
5 S camilla—Lonicera ccerulea, L. xylosteum, L. caprifolium,
L. periclymenum.
6. a sibilla—Same plants as the preceding.
7. Vanessa levana—uUrtica dioica.
8. “ — egea—Salix, Parietaria officinalis.
9. “ — C. abum—Ulmus campestris, Humulus lupulus, Urtic
urens, Ribes rubrum, R. grossularia, Corylus avel-
lana, Lonicera xylosteum.
10. ‘¢ polychloros—Pyrus communis (pear), P. malus (apple), P.
cydonia (quince), P. cerasus (cherry), Ulmus,
Salix, Populus, Cornus.
22, _ THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
11. Vanessa xanthomelas—Populus, Ulmus, Salix caprea, S. acuminata,
S. glauca, S. vitellina.
£2. “« L. album—Ul mus, Salix.
13; “« — uwrtice—Urtica hispida, etc.
14. “ . go—Urtica, Humulus.
Te “ — antiopa—Salix, Betula, Populus, Tilia (Ulmus is not given.)
16. “¢ atalanta—Urtica dioica, U. urens. |
07. “ cardui—Cirsium oleraceum, C. arvense, C. palustre, C. lan-
ceolatum, Carduus natans, Malva_ rotundifolia,
Gnaphalium arenarium, G. luteoalbum, Achillea
millefolium, Artemisia. vulgaris, Filago arvensis,
Onopordum acanthium, Cynara scolymus, Centaurea
benedicta, Urtica dioica, Carlina.
18. Argynnis aphirape—Polygonum distorta, Viola palustris.
19. oe selene—Viola canina, V. tricolor.
20. es euphrosyne—Vniola canina.
2, : pates—Viola montana.
22. vs dia—Viola cdorata.
22. oF daphne—Viola, Rubus ideeus, R. fruticosus.
24. 4g zno—Urtica.
25. ef lathonia—Viola arvensis, V. tricolor, Hedysarum onobry-
chis, Anchusa officinalis.
26. a aglaja—Viola canina.
2. i niobe—Viola odorata, V. tricolor.
28. de adippe—Viola odorata, V. tricolor.
20. “< paphia—Hesperis tristis, Viola canina, Rubus ideeus,
Urtica.
30. ¢ pandora—Viola.
31. Melitea cynthia—Plantago lanceolata, Pedicularis rostrata.
22. ‘¢ — maturna—Melampyrum nemorosum, Populus tremula, Salix
capreea, Fraxinus excelsior, Veronica, Plantago.
33. “ aurinia—Geranium sanguineum, Scabiosa, Veronica, Plan-
tago.
34. ‘“¢ _ cinxia—Plantago lanceolata, Veronica, Hieracium pilosella,
H. canescens.
ac. ‘< phebe—Centaurea scabiosa, C. jacea.
36. “ trivia—Verbascum thapsus, V. nigrum.
2a. ‘“ didyma — Artemesia abrotanum, Plantago, Centaurea,
Stachys, Linaria vulgaris, Veronica, Teucrium chameedrys.
38.
39:
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 23
Melitea dictynna—Melampyrum nemorosym, Spirea aruncus, S.
ulmaria, Veronica. .
“ athalia—Melampyrum sylvaticum, M. pratense, M. nemo-
rosum, Plantago, Veronica chamaedrys, Chrysan-
themum corymbosum, Digitalis ochroleuca.
‘< aurelia—Plantago.
i ‘
- “var. britomartis—Veronica chamaedrys, Melampyrum
pratense.
“« parthenie—Plantago lanceolata, Centaurea jacea, Melampy-
rum pratense.
Nemeobius luctna—Rumex, Primula.
Thecla betule—Prunus spinosa, P. armeniaca.
‘¢ sfint—Rhamnus saxatilis, R. cathartica, R. frangula, Prunus
spinosa, P. domestica.
‘¢ W. album—U\|mus campestris.
“< weces—Ulmus.
“ acacie—Prunus spinosa.
pruni—Prunus spinosa, Amygdalus communis, Rhamnus
cathartica.
rubi—Prunus spinosa, Rhamnus, Cytisus, Hedysarum ono-
brychis, Amygdalus persica, Rubus, Genista, Ledum
palustre.
Lycena betica—Spartium, Colutea, Phaca beetica.
“© telicanus—Lythrum salicaria.
“« argiades—Lotus corniculatus, Anthyllis vulneraria, Medi-
cago falcata, M. lupulina, Trifolium arvense, T.
pratense, Pisum sativum.
“ argyrotoxus—Genista, Colutea arborescens, Trifolium.
“¢ argus—Rhamnus, Trifolium montanum, Mellilotus officin-
alis, Genista germanica, Spartium scoparium, Hedy-
sarum onobrychis, Lotus corniculatus, Erica
vulgaris.
“ optilete—Vaccinium oxycoccos.
‘< orion—Sedum telephium.
“ astrarche—FErodium cicutarium, Geranium dissectum, G.
pusillum.
‘“ gcarus—Tnifolum, Mellilotus, Genista, Ononis_ spinosa,
Astragalus glyciphyllos, Fragaria vesca, Medicago.
24
60.
86.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Lycena bellargus—Trifolium, Coronilla varia, C. montana, Hippo-
crepis comosa, Genista sagittalis, Stachys.
coridon—Vicia, Astragalus, Coronilla varia.
hylas—Trifolium, Mellilotus officinalis.
dolus—Trifolium.
damon—Hedysarum onobrychis.
argtolus—Rhamnus frangula, Mespilus, Pyrus malus.
mintma—Anthyllis vulneraria.
semiargus—M ellilotus.
cy@arus—Astragalus glyciphyilos, Trifolium, Mellilotus,
Genista sagittalis, G. germanica, Hedysarum ono-
brychis.
jolas—Colutea arborescens.
Polyommatus virgauree—Solidago virgaureze, Rumex acutus, R.
acetosa.
ce
dispar—Rumex, Polygonum.
hippothoc—Rumex acetosa.
alciphron—Rumex acetosa.
dorilis—Rumex acetosa, R. acetosella.
phleas—Rumex acetosa.
amphidamas—Rumex acetosa, Polygonum _bistorta,
Viola canina.
Rhodocera rhamni—Rhamnus cathartica, Frangula, Mespilus ger-
manica, Pyrus.
cleopatra—Rhamnus alpinus.
Colias paleno-—Hydrocotyle vulgaris, Vaccinum uliginosum.
«¢ hyale—Coronilla varia, Trifolium, Vicia.
myrmidtone—Cytisus biflorus, C. nigricans.
edusa—Onobrychis, Cytisus.
Pieris brassice—Brassica, Rhaphanus sativus, Cochlearia armoracia,
Sinapis, Lepidium sativum, Tropzolum, Cheiranthus
annuus.
rape—the same plants as the preceding, and also Reseda.
napi—PBrassica oleracea, B. napus, Reseda lutea, R. luteola,
R. odorata, Turritis glabra, Alliaria officinalis,
Sinapis. |
daplidice—Reseda lutea, Turritis glabra, Erucastrum, Rha-
phanus rhaphanistrum, Sisymbrium sophia, Capsella
bursa-pastoris, Alyssum incanum, Sinapis, Thlaspl.
ce
cc
ce
87.
88.
S89.
go.
gi.
92.
93:
94.
95:
96.
97:
98.
99.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 29
Aporia crategi—Crategus oxyacantha, Prunus spinosa, P. domes-
tica, P. padus, Pyrus malus, P. communis, Mespilus,
Sorbus.
Anthocaris cardamines—Alliaria_ officinalis, Cardamine impatiens,
Turritis glabra, Brassica campestris, Hesperis,
Sinapis, Thlaspi.
Leucophasia sinapis—Lotus corniculatus, Lathyrus pratensis, Tri-
folium pratense (Sinapis is not given).
Parnassius apollo—Sedum album, Telephium, Sempervivum tec-
torum.
‘ mnemosyne—Corydalis bulbosa, C. solida.
Papilio sinon—Pranus spinosa, P. domestica, Pyrus malus, P. com-
munis, Amygdalus persica, A. communis, Quercus.
“< machaon—Carum carui, Anethum foeniculum, Apium graveo-
lens, Daucus carota, Pimpinella saxifraga, Angelica
sylvestris, Peucedanum ‘chabrei, Heracleum, Oreosi-
linum.
Nisoniades tages—Iberis pinnati, Eryngium campestre, Lotus corni-
culatus, Coronilla varia.
Spilothyrus alcee—Malva.
Syrichtus alveus—Polygala chameebuxus.
4 malve—Malva moschata, Plantago lanceolata, Fragaria,
Comarum, Rubus.
Fé sao—Rubus ideeus.
Carterocephalus palemon—Plantago.
100. Hesperia sylvanus—Plantago major, Althea rosea, Malva moschata,
£O1.
Lavatera communis.
I comma—Coronilla varia.
NOTES ON COLLECTING CATOCALAS.
BY ROBERT BUNKER, ROCHESTER, N. Y.
In many respects the Catocalas are among the most interesting of the
moths. The contrast of color between their fore and hind wings renders
them objects of great beauty, and hence these fair forms of the woods
26 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
ed
are eagerly sought after by collectors. My spare time this season was
spent in collecting Catocalas. In this part of the country they may be
found from the first of June till the first of November. Amasia and
wltronia are seen first; I took a fine amasza on the z9th of May, and an
ultronta on the roth of June. Cara and several other species may be
found as late as the first of November.
Oak woods, where the trees are young and sufficiently scattered to
admit the sunlight, are the most favorable places for collecting. Ina
small piece of woods of not more than four acres, 1 captured thirty-two
specimens, among which were thirteen different species. I was unable to
visit the place more than eight times; probably many more could have
been taken had my visits been more frequent. My collecting was done
in this manner: On approaching a tree I examined the trunk carefully up
as high as the first limbs; if a Catocala was seen, and low enough down
to reach, I used a paper box (collar box) to secure the prize, but if high
up the net was brought into requisition. If I failed to find one, I gave
the tree a vigorous shake, and if one was lurking anywhere about the
trunk it was sure to start up and fly, generally but a short distance, when
it would settle, and by cautiously approaching the tree I found no diffi-
culty in securing it. Sometimes two would start up from one tree,
generally male and female, and in such a case it was no easy matter to
follow both of them ; still I generally managed to secure them. AsI
examined trees I marked them with chalk to save the trouble of working
the ground twice over.
Catocalas, like the lappet moths, usually alight on objects that har-
monize with their own colors. Those with light grey fore wings were
found on white oak (Quercus alba), and those with dark wings, like
epione and cara, on black oak ( Quercus nigra).
In alate number of the ENromo.ocist, Mr. Grote gave us a list of
the Catocalas, fifty-nine in number ; he now adds four new ones to the
list. My impression is that additional species will be found in the northern
and middle States.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 27
ON SOME OF OUR COMMON INSECTS.
12, THE AMERICAN COPPER UNDERWING—
Amphipyra pyramidoides, Guen.
BY THE EDITOR.
This insect is a troublesome one in many parts of our province, and
‘is yearly increasing. It first attracted attention by its depredations on
‘the foliage of the vine, but now, with us, while it is still a plague in the
vinery, itis more abundant on plum and apple trees, and is also common
on the thorn. It has been knownin popular language as “the pyramidal
grape vine worm” on account of the larva having a pyramidal hump
near the end of its body; also as “the green grape vine worm,” in
‘consequence of the larva being of a green colour, but since it is not by
any means restricted to the grape, we prefer the common name placed at
the head of this article—‘‘ the American copper underwing ”—given to it
because the hind wings of the moth are of a lustrous copper colour. A
very similar moth, Amphipyra pyramidea, Linn., is common in Europe,
the larva of which feeds on the oak, elm, poplar and other trees, and since
this insect is known in England as “the copper underwing,” we think
the common name we have referred to, which was first suggested by Mr,
EE Riley, is a very appropriate
one for our species.
The larva, of which a very
good representation is given
in figure 3, first attracts notice
early in June, when it may be found about half grown and feeding
vigorously; by the middle of the month it has usually attained its full
-size, when it measures from one and a quarter to one and a half inches in
length. The head is rather small, flattened in front, and of a whitish
green color, with the mandibles tipped with black. The body is of a
delicate whitish green, a little darker on the sides, with a white stripe
-down the back, a little broken between the segments and somewhat
widened behind. On each side, close to the under surface, there is a
28 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
bright yellow stripe which is most distinct on the hinder segments, and a
second one of the same color, but fainter, half way between this and the
dorsal line ; this latter is more distinct on the posterior portion of the
body, where it follows the peculiar pyramidal hump or prominence on the
twelfth segment, as shown in the figure. The under surface of the body.
is pale green.
When full grown this caterpillar descends to the ground, and, drawing
together some loose fallen leaves or other rubbish, spins within a loose
silken cocoon, where in due time it changes to a dark, shining brown
chrysalis, from which the moth usually escapes in the latter part of July ;.
those which we have reared have appeared about the 2oth of the month.
The moth, see figure 4, measures, when its wings are expanded, about
one and three quarter inches. The fore wings are dark brown, shaded
Fig. 4.
with paler brown, and with dots and
wavy lines of a glossy grey or dull
_ whitish hue. The hind wings are red-
' dish with. more or less of a coppery
' lustre; browner on the outer angle of
the front edge of the wing, and paler .
towards the hinder and inner angle.-—
The body is dark brown with the hinder
portion banded with lines of a paler shade. The under surface of the
wings is much hghter in color than the upper.
In what stage of its existence this insect passes the winter months has
not yet been determined. Whether the eggs, which are probably laid
during August, remain dormant during the remainder of the summer and
hatch early the following spring, or whether the eggs hatch into larvee
early in the fall, and the larve, while still young, become torpid and sleep
through the long winter months, remains undecided ; we incline, however,
to the latter view.
Where the caterpillars prove troublesome their numbers may be
lessened by jarring the trees or vines on which they are feeding with the
hand, when they will usually drop to the ground, where, on account.
of their green color, they can be readily seen and destroyed.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 29:
ON ANISOPTERYX VERNATA AND POMETARIA.
BY H. K. MORRISON, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
There has been some confusion lately in regard to the limits and
synonymy of these two common species, partially due to Dr. Harris’
unsatisfactory reference to them in his ‘‘ Report on the Insects of Mas-
sachusetts,” 1841, and to the inaccessibility of Prof. Peck’s original
description of A. vernata.
In the numerous notes on these species and references to them in
recent publications, they are in nearly all cases confounded together or
wrongly determined ; and I have not found them correctly named in a
single collection which I have examined.
I reprint the descriptive portion of Prof. Peck’s excellent essay. He
was only acquainted with verzafa and makes no reference to any other
species. Dr. Harris considered fometfaria the true “‘ canker worm,” and
vernata a variety ; on what grounds I do not know, as the latter is much
the commoner, and, I presume, the most destructive. The following
description of verzata was published in the Massachusetts JZagazine, vol..
vii, Sept. and Oct., 1795, and reprinted in 1827 in the New England
Farmer, vol. v.:
“* Phalaena vernata, geometra geticornis, alis cinereis, fascit tribus obscuris,
“fuscis, posticis immaculatis, femina aptera. The wings are ash color
“with three obscure blackish transverse stripes, and a small dash of the
““same color at the tip; the under wings are of a uniform color and
“rather lighter than the ground color of the upper ones. The body of
“the female is nearly four lines in length, ash colored and marked on the
“back with a brown list extending from the thorax to the tail. In thirteen
“ days the females deposit their eggs ;_ these are placed in the crannies of
“the bark in the forks of small branches, and where there are spots of
“moss upon the smaller limbs; they seem most fond of insinuating
‘themselves in the cavities between its leaves. For this purpose they
“are furnished with a tube through which the egg is passed. The egg is
“elliptic, one-thirtieth of an inch in length, of a pearl color with a
“ yellowish cast. The larve when full grown are about 9 lines long. The
‘“‘ head pale, marked on each side with two transverse blackish stripes, the
30 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
—_——
“‘back ash colored, marked lengthwise with small interrupted dusky lines.
“The sides blackish, with a pale line along the length of the body ; there
“are two white spots on the last segment of the body. The abdomen
‘beneath is ash colored. The chrysalis is about five lines long and one
“and one-half lines in diameter, of a light hazel color, oblong and |
“pointed at one end. ‘Their natural and regular time of rising is about
“the middle of March, but happens earlier or later according to the
“warmth or coldness of the season.”
Dr. Harris described the male of what he considered the true ‘‘ canker
worm moth” as follows. The femalé he seems to have confounded with
the females of vernata.
Saal a
he fore wings are ash colored, with a distinct whitish spot on the
“front edge near the tip ; these are crossed by two whitish, jagged bands
“along the sides of which there are several blackish dots ; the outermost
‘band has an angle near the front edge, within which there is a short,
“faint, blackish line, and there is a row of black dots along the outer
‘margin close to the fringe. The hind wings are pale ash colored, with
“a faint blackish dot near the middle. The wings expand about one
“inch and a quarter. This species may be called Avmisopteryx pome-
Orla”.
It has been thought that perhaps these two forms were the autumnal
and vernal broods of the same species.
That the two species are entirely distinct, differing from one another
in the most positive and unmistakable characters, has been abundantly
shown by Mr. B. Mann in the Proceedings of the Boston Society of
Natural History.
I give below the distinctive characters of the two species arranged in
the most convenient form for comparison. It will be noticed that while
the species resemble each other closely externally, the differences, par-
ticularly in the females, are in many cases structural.
Vernata, Peck. Pometaria, Harr.
The first seven rings of the ab- The first seven rings of the ab-
domen in both sexes bear each domen in both sexes with no spines
upon the back two transverse rows upon the back.
of stiff red spines, pointing towards
the end of the body.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Fore wings of male ash colored
or brownish gray, the whitish spot
found on the fore wings of omet-
aria wanting.
The whitish bands found on the
fore wings of Jometaria are wanting,
but there is a jagged, submarginal
white band on the upper side of
the fore wings in most specimens.
Three interrupted dusky lines
across the fore wings, instead of
two lines as in fomefaria; some-
times these lines are only indicated
by dark spots on the costa and by
blackish dashes at the crossing of
the median nervure.
There is an oblique black dash
near the tip of the fore wings, also
a distinct, nearly uniform, continu-
ous black line before the fringe.
The white band found on the
hind wings of ometaria is wanting.
Abdomen of the female termin-
ating in a retractile ovipositor rather
acutely tapering behind.
Body and legs of the female
clothed with whitish and dark brown
dentate scales; general coloration
not uniform ; a black, dorsal, longi-
tudinal, interrupted band on the
abdomen ; a whitish patch on each
side of the beginning of the band ;
the spines often give a reddish tinge
to the part they occupy.
31
Fore wings of male ash colored,
with a distinct whitish spot on the
front edge near the tip.
Forewings crossed by two whitish
jagged bands ; the outermost band
has an angle near the front edge ;
the whitish bands are sometimes
obsolete, in which case only the
whitish spot remains.
Along the sides of the whitish
bands there are several blackish
dots, each on a nervule, and all
generally connected together by a
dusky band which includes them.
Within the angle of the outer-
most whitish band, near the front
edge, there is a short, faint, blackish
line, and there is a marginal row of
black dots before the fringe.
In most specimens a _ curved
white discal band extending across
the hind wings.
Abdomen of the female without
ovipositor, terminating bluntly.
Body and legs of the female
smooth, clothed with glistening
brown and white truncate scales
intermixed, giving the body the ap-
pearance of uniform shining, dark
ash color above, and gray beneath.
pa THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIS'.
In regard to the time of appearance of the species, vernata emerges:
in the spring (March and April). I have never seen a specimen taken in
the autumn. It is by far the commoner of the two. Pometaria is not so
common as vernata, and the great majority of specimens emerge in the
fall or early winter, very rarely a few remaining over until the spring. The
spring specimens of the male are very strongly marked, of a dark smoky
brown, resembling somewhat in coloration the dark suffused variety of
Cleora pulchiaria, Minot. Although I have searched particularly for
them, I have never been able to take but two males. The females seem
to be more common in the spring, and do not differ from the fall speci-
mens.
I have examined 150 male, 70 female vernafa; 40 male, 60 female
pometaria, taken in the autumn, and 2 male, 10 female Jometaria, taken in:
the spring.
NOTES ON THE LARVA OF BOARMIA LARVARIA, GUENEE.
BY THE EDITOR.
Several of the larvz of this species were taken on the 24th of June;
they were found feeding on willow and taken by beating the bushes over
an umbrella.
Length one inch ; body cylindrical.
Head medium-sized, flat, bilobed ; brownish grey in front, a little
darker at the sides, with a patch of brownish black on the summit of
each lobe, and a few short brownish hairs ; mandibles brownish black.
Body above reddish brown, smooth and glossy, having here and there
a greenish tint, and with many fine longitudinal lines of a Slightly darker
shade scarcely visible without a lens. On each segment, from fifth to
twelfth inclusive, there are two small black dots on each side of the dorsal
line, and on sixth segment a black tubercle with a small patch of white at
its base in front. On seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh segments
are similar black tubercles, but much smaller, with a whitish dot on the
anterior part of the base of each, most distinct on tenth and eleventh
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. oe
segments. ‘Twelfth segment with two scarcely raised black tubercles
above, a short black streak on each side behind them, and a small whitish
spot in front ; terminal segment with a few very fine short brownish hairs.
Spiracles small sub-oval, pale ringed with black.
Under surface similar to the upper, with the greenish tint a little more
decided and a central stripe of greenish white widening between the two
pairs of prolegs ; each segment from fifth to ninth has several small black
dots. Feet yellowish green, faintly ringed with black at their base; pro-
legs green, marked with reddish brown on the outside.
Two specimens entered the chrysalis state on the 25th of June; one
produced the imago on the gth’of July, the other on the 12th. ‘The
moth was kindly determined for me by Dr. A. S. Packard, Salem, Mass.
A DISSERTATION ON NORTHERN BUTTERFLIES.
BY WILLIAM COUPER, MONTREAL.
The Swallow-tail Butterflies which occur on the Islands of Anticosti
and Newfoundland, and on the north coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence
are at present a subject of dispute, both as to species and position among
the Papilionide. Having séme knowledge of their localities and geo-
graphical range, I venture to state my opinion on the matter.
When I first visited the south coast of Labrador, in 1867, a Swallow-
tail butterfly was taken by me at Natashquan, where it was rare. I
supposed it then to be a boreal variety or race of Astertas, and on my
return to Quebec presented two or three specimens to the Rev. Mr. Innes,
who had a collection of Lepidoptera among which were specimens of a
smaller Pafilio, which he informed me came from St. John’s Newfound-
land. Mr. Innes removed afterwards to London, Ont., and I heard no
more of the Labrador or Newfoundland Pafi/ios until Mr. W. Saunders
described his Pagilio brevicauda in ‘ Packard’s Guide.” Mr. Saunders
obtained his specimen through the kindness of Mr. Innes, who told him
that he had received it from an officer who had been spendirg some time
at St. John’s. If the Pafz/zos taken by me at Natashquan, Labrador were
in Mr. Innes’ cabinet when Mr. S. obtained the specimen described as
brevicauda, did Mr. Innes point them out to Mr. S. in order to compare
with those from Newfoundland? ‘This primary question should be
answered, because there is no evident difference between the Pafi/io of
34 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Anticosti and that of the Labrador coast.* Yet Mr. Saunders states.
(April 30th, 1873) ‘that he saw one of my Anticosti specimens at Mr.
‘“‘ Mead’s, in New York, but did not feel at all satisfied that it was identi-
“cal with his drevicauda. Polyxenes is Scudder’s new name for asterias,
“but he (Scudder) does not regard drevicauda now as identical with it.”
I have tried to obtain a specimen of the Newfoundland Papz/io, and
communicated with a gentleman residing at St. John’s, Newfoundland,,.
asking him to procure specimens of this swallow-tail butterfly forme. He
says: ‘‘In my opinion it is very rare in this district. During the last
“three summers I have seen but one specimen, and some of my
‘friends here confirm the opinion regarding its rarity.” That he has
reason to believe that in other parts of the Island it is more abundant,
as he has heard of it at Cod Roy, on the western coast, and Notre
Dame Bay, in the north of the Island. He adds “-that a siaiam
“Entomologist has been enquiring for it on the south coast of the Island
“ for some time, without success.”
I am contident that it becomes scarce as we proceed down the
south coast of Labrador, towards the Straits of Belle Isle. The true
habitat of the Papilio’ (specimens of which I gave Rev. Mr. Innes in
1867) is the Island of Anticosti, where it occurs more abundantly than
in Labrador or Newfoundland. It is met with occasionally at Mingan,
but more commonly at the mouths of rivers east of Seven islands.
The description in ‘‘ Packard’s Guide” does not exactly correspond
with the external markings of the Anticosti specimens, and I candidly
state that I have never seen a butterfly whose general features are more
uniform than in that of the latter Island.
Mr. Edwards, of W. Virginia, states that it is not related to asterias,
but to machaon and zolicaon. Ina letter from him, dated August, 1873, he
thinks that the Anticosti Papilio is undoubtedly drevicauda, Saunders,.
whose description was taken from a single 2, and the fulvous prevailed
remarkably in the yellow spots. That the description of drevicauda fits.
one of the Anticosti 2 exactly. He points out, however, wherein the
Anticosti Papilio differs notably in two respects from mcchaon, or the
American representative of that, viz., P. Alaska, Scudder, and from
zolicaon. 1st—the hind wings are black, while in the others from base to
* The specimen Mr. Innes gave me was from Newfoundland. He did not show
me Mr. Couper’s specimens.—Ep. C. E.
‘
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 35
disc they are yellow. 2nd—the abdomen of the Anticosti species is.
spotted with yellow like asterias, while all the others have that part black
with yellow lines, as in ¢urnus. In a letter from Mr. Edwards, dated
Sept. rst, 1873, he says that ‘‘we had all béen looking for affinity to
asterias, while the butterfly belonged to another group. Strecker described
it as a var. of asterias, and so Packard considered drevicauda a var. of
asterias. In my synopsis I put the species down as a var. of asterias. It
is many years since I saw the original drevzcauda, and I have forgotten its
appearance ; but inreading over the description in Packard, I consider
that the excess of fulvous is the only permanent distinction between the
Newfoundland and Anticosti specimens.” Mr. Grote agrees with Mr.
Edwards that the Pagzlzo collected in Anticosti is drevicauda, Saunders, but
I think my memory serves me correctly when I state that the specimens.
of Papilio in Mr. Innes’ collection from Newfoundland were considered
distinct by the latter gentleman and myself, at that time. The Newfound-
land specimens were smaller than those from Labrador; indeed, we
looked on the St. John’s butterfly as dwarfed, but the species was not then
determined. |
Not having access to all the forms constituting connecting groups of
Papilios, J am not prepared to concur with the gentlemen who have
classed it with machaon or zoltcaon. At first view the Anticosti butterfly
takes the characters of astertoides, Reakirt, and asterzas, while the form
has a mere approach to machaon and zolicaon. I suppose it is on account
of the latter affinity that Mr. Edwards places it near machaon and zolicaon,
but there are these notable differences between the Anticosti Papilio and
P. Alaska, Scudder, or zolicaon, viz., 1st, the hind wings are black and
the zzterior band underneath is constant in form and number of spots, and
the spots are not wedged into each other as in sofcaon or asterias. 2nd,
the abdomen is spotted with yellow similar to as¢erias and asterioides, and
in fact, in my judgment, the Anticosti Papilio, with the exception of the
width of the macular band, is a prototype of asteriotdes, Reakirt, from
Mexico. Constancy of marks on the wings and body of an insect, no
matter to what order it belongs, is undoubtedly doa fide evidence of the
stability of the species.
We have evidence of European insects introduced into this country
becoming acclimatized and segregated in course of years, and a few of
these which we now find holding a local existence on such islands as
Anticosti and Newfoundland, may have in earlier times found it necessary
36 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
to search for more congenial localities, there becoming attached to new
food plants, which, no doubt, have an influence in diversity of colors. We
have an instance of this in the American representative of Vanessa
antiopa, which is of rare occurrence in Anticosti ; but where it retains the
features of its English congener, while those taken in more southern
latitudes assume a different coloration. Instance also the introduction of
Picris rape into Canada of late years. This species has now a struggle to
exist in the latitude of Quebec, but so long as its food plant is abundant
it will continue with us. It has been gradually moving south, where, with
a more favorable climate, it propagates extensively. This butterfly also
shows the effects of climate in the appearance of a yellow variety. It
may be possible that the butterflies called drevieauda by Mr. Saunders and
Anticostiensis by Mr. H. Strecker, had a similar origin. The connecting
link or affinity of Papilio brevicauda with asterias is only a perplexing
attempt to make the Anticosti form an ally of the continental 7. Pa
which is Scudder’s new name for asterzas_,
I cannot find sufficient reason for such connection, as there is quite a
distinction between the larva of asterias and that of the Anticosti
butterfly. It may, however, be discovered that an affinity occurs in
P. asterioides and brevicauda or Anticostiensis ; and although the former is
found in Mexico, I see no reason to doubt their connection in years gone
by-*
Considering the present rate of travel of Pieris rapae southwardly, it
may during the course of another twelve years reach Costa Rica, and
there change so much externally as to be claimed as another variety, while
the Canadian form will still be called the segregated species. Mr. Her-
mann Strecker, of Reading, Penn., in his “‘ Rhap. et Hetero.” No. 6, page
48, gives the geographical distribution of asterias as follows :—‘‘ The
“ ordinary form, with but little variation, occurs from Canada to Florida,”
taking a southern range, while it extends west as far as Colorado. He
considers asterioides to be the tropical form of asterias, that brevicauda
* Nore.—‘‘ The insects of separate arctic regions have a great mutual resem-
“‘blanece, and the difference between them increases in the successive concentric
“‘circles from the above regions towards the equator. It has been said that the
“‘advance of the glacial period ,was accompanied by the migration of insects
‘“‘southwards, and that the present distribution of insects was effected by the pre-
**valence of this epoch, and by the succeeding temperate epoch.” —F. Walker, F. Le
S., in Can. Fut., vol. iii, p. 148.
Che Canadian Entomologist,
VOL. VI. LONDON, ONT., MARCH, 1874. No. 3
DESCRIPTION AND HABITS OF A SUPPOSED NEW SPECIES
OF LEPIDOPTEROUS LARVA OF THE GENUS SPHINX.
BY THCMAS G. GENTRY, GERMANTOWN, PA.
Des.—Body cylindrical, tapering gradually anteriorly, 12-jointed,
exclusive of head. © Head sub-elliptical, thickly punctured, moderately
pubescent and of a yellowish brown color. Oral appendages largely
developed. Antennz 3-jointed, cylindrical, acuminate, the basal joint
very long and quite thick. A dark purplish curved band passes from the
crown of the head to therightantenna. Prothoracic segment surmounted
by a transversely elongated, punctated, corneous saddle, concolorous with
the head.
General color dark purple, relieved by two series of dorso-lateral
gold-colored dots, ranging from the posterior half of the metathoracic
to the seventh abdominal segment (each series containing twenty-seven
points). The anterio1 half of the second, to the seventh abdominal
segments inclusive, each furnished with a single, much larger, similarly
colored one. Above the line of the prolegs, intermediate between this
and that of the spiracles, on each side, is a row of irregularly shaped
yellow spots.
True legs moderately elongate, acuminate, 3-jointed and yellowish
brown in hue, the tarsal joint being armed with a short, recurved, black
claw: the whole slightly invested with short black hairs. The
membraneous legs of the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th abdominal segments
cylindrical, thickish, abruptly truncate at base, and clothed with short
reddish brown hairs, and armed on the inferior aspect interiorly with a
double row of stiff, ferruginous hairs, for adhering to objects. Anal pro-
42, THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
a
leg sub-quadrangular, warty and pubescent, and surmounted by a triangular
supra-anal plate of a dark purplish color, with the apex directed
posteriorly.
Prothoracic and first and abdominal rings are furnished each with a
pair of transversely oval, yellowish spiracles. Inferior aspect of the larva
is marked with clusters of white spots, relieving the monotony of the
purple. Last abdominal segment surmounted by a moderately long
recurved horn, yellowish brown in color, and bearing scattered gland like
bodies, which manifest a tendency to become spines. Length nearly 3
inches. ‘Taken in Germantown during the first week of September, while
feeding upon the leaves of Polygonum pennsylvanicum.
This larva, belonging, as it does, to the family Sphingide, is
undoubtedly rare, as it is the only one that I have met with in all my
entomological rambles; nor can I find in any of the works at my com-
mand a description, still less a figure thereof. In some respects it
resembles the full-grown larva of Sphinx euphorbia, described and figured
in “ Transformation of Insects,” by Dr. Duncan; in others it differs very
materially therefrom. In the Euphorbia Sphinx the yellow points are
scattered promiscuously over the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the body,
but in the specimen under consideration they are arranged with some view
to order. ‘There is a still further resemblance in the irregular spots which
flank the sides, just beneath the line of stigmata, and in the general
color, the former being black, and the latter a rich dark purple. It differs
from the former in being devoid of the three longitudinal lines of carmine
tint, which is a prominent feature of it, and also in being more tapering
anteriorly.
There is one character in the life history of this larva which struck me
as peculiarly novel and interesting, and which deserves to be placed upon
record. Instead of assuming the peculiar Sphinx-like attitude in a state
of rest, (whence the popular name of Sphinx is derived), and which is so
familiar to entomological students as well as the outside world, it curves
its body, bringing the head and tail in close proximity, réminding one of
the position which is so easily and readily taken by the larva of Cimbex
ulmi, Reek.
It cannot be denied that this is its natural posture in a state of
inaction. ‘To assure myself that a position which seemed so natural and
easy to the worm was not an occasional one, I was permitted in the
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 43:
intervals of relaxation and freedom from duty, to give it prolonged and
careful attention for many consecutive days. In not a single instance did
it assume the attitude so eminently characteristic of the Sphinx family.
One other peculiar trait of its nature it was my happy fortune to
observe. Caterpillars, as is well known, have a variety of ways for
defending themselves against the annoyances and assaults of their
enemies. While some are provided with hairs which act as irritating
causes when brought into contact with highly sensitive surfaces, others are
furnished with fearful looking spines which infuse a feeling of horror into
their enemies, even when they have not the power toactas irritants. This
species, presenting an almost perfectly smooth bodily surface, assuredly
makes up from its lack of integumentary appendages, in being armed with
a pair of powerful tridentate mandibles, which it uses freely and indis-
criminately.
Hundreds of Lepidopterous larvee have been handled with impunity
by the writer, and this new method of self-defence, even where manifested,
has been so slight as not to attract much attention. In this case the
insect seemed unwilling to permit any familiarities. The softest touch of
the finger was sharply resented. Onone occasion the writer’s finger was
seized and held on to with such pertinacity, as to require considerable
effort at extrication. The smart from this squeezing lingered for many
minutes afterwards—a suitable punishment for his temerity. Even when
laid upon the palm of the hand it continued its rapid twitchings from
side to side, and with gaping jaws, as if still conscious of hidden danger,
ready to vent the full measure of its infuriated passion upon anything that
should come within their scope.
In conclusion, I am sorry to say that my vzvarium having been unduly
tampered with during my absence, this caterpillar, which was always
exceedingly restless under confinement, effected its escape. On the
discovery of the fact dilligent search was commenced, but no clue to its
whereabouts could be obtained—it, doubtless, like many of its unfortunate
kind, having become a rich morsel for some insect-loving bird. I trust to
be able during the gradually approaching season to secure similar larve
and bring them to the imago or moth condition.
44 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
HESPERTA"PAWNEE. * /V.°52.
BY G. M. DODGE, GLENCOE, DODGE CO., NEBRASKA.
Male expands 1.45 inches. Primaries above fulvous. Subcostal, sub-
median and subdorsal veins black at the base. Stigma black and
conspicuous, followed by a dusky shade. A small black line at the
extremity of the disk is preceded by a yellowish white or semi-transparent
spot in the disk ; a similar spot, triangular in shape, appears between the
first and second median veinlets at their divarication, and two others
between the sixth and seventh subcostal veinlets. | The outer margin is
broadly bordered with brown, which is finely powdered with fulvous scales
toward the apex.
Two nearly square fulvous spots between the last subcostal and first
median veinlets, separate an oval brown patch that lies at the extremity
of the disk, from the border. Costal edge blackish. Fringe white, dusky
toward the apex.
Secondaries fulvous, bordered with brown ; broadly and darkest along
the anterior edge, narrowly on the outer edge, where it appears as cunei-
form spots between the veinlets, and broadly again along the inner edge,
where it is sprinkled with fulvous. Most of the veins on both wings are
black. Underside of both wings pale yellow. Primaries black at base,
having a black line corresponding to the stigma.
Inner margin brown, preceded by a large whitish patch. Five pale
whitish spots near the apex, another in the disk, and one between the
first and second median veinlets. Fringe white at the anal angle, brown
tipped with white at the apex. Secondaries have a whitish spot in the
disk, and are crossed by a nearly straight row of small whitish spots.
Head and thorax greenish yellow. Body black. Abdomen, breast and
palpi yellowish white. Antennze black and yellow above, white tipped
with chestnut below.
The spots on the underside of secondaries sometimes obsolete.
2 light brown above, with a slight purplish reflection. Primaries
sprinkled with fulvous scales near the base and inner angle. There is a
large, square, white spot in the disk, and an unequal, curved row of nine
white spots extend from the costa—beginning about two-tenths of an inch
from the apex—to the submedian vein. ‘The first three spots are narrow
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 45
and equal, the fourth and fifth are small and square and lie nearest the
outer edge of the wing, the sixth is larger and triangular, the seventh
largest and square, the eighth and ninth are irregular in shape and partly
fulvous. .
Secondaries darkest along the anterior margin. A curved row of five
whitish yellow spots, of which the second and third are longest, crosses
the wing beyond the disk, and in the disk is a small yellow spot. A
yellow streak precedes the last median veinlet, running to the outer
margin. Fringe of all the wings white. Below, on the primaries, the
same white spots appear as above, except that the eighth and ninth are
merged in a large whitish patch situated as inthe male. A brown patch
covers part of the base and inner margin, and extends to the center of the
wing. On the secondaries three small white spots appear near the apex.
The ground color of both wings is yellowish white, most deeply tinged
with fulvous near the costal border of the primaries. Fringes white.
Head, thorax and body brown above. Abdomen and palpi white. An-
tennz black above, whitish tipped with red below.
This species was taken at Glencoe, Nebraska, upon high rolling
prairie, from the first to the middle of September.
The writer can exchange a few males for United States diurnals, with
those desirous of seeing the types.
LIST OF NEUROPTERA
COLLECTED BY }. PETTIT, GRIMSBY, ONT.
Psocus striatus, Libellula 4-maculata,
Pteronarcys biloba ? ‘¢ _ pulchella,
Calopteryx maculata, «¢ semifasciata,
Lestes rectangularis, Diplax intacta,
‘¢ forcipata, “- rubicundula,
«¢ unguiculata, Chauliodes pectinicornis,
Agrion saucium, o maculatus,
a aeene, 3 angusticollis,
© irinets, " Polystoechotes punctatus,
Aeschna constricta, Myrmeleon obsoletus,
Plathemis trimaculata, Panorpa rufescens.
Libellula luctuosa,
A6 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
ON SOME OF OUR COMMON INSECTS.
~——e
13. THE DISIPPUS BUTTERFL Y—Limenitis disippus, Godt.
———
BY THE EDITOR.
In the annual report of the Entomological Society of Ontario, for
1872, this insect is referred to at some length, and from the material there
given much of the following has been condensed. In the perfect or
winged state it is tolerably common throughout Ontario, and in this
condition it very closely resembles our common red or archippus butter-
fly, see CAN. ENT., vol. v, p. 4, from which, however, it may always be
distinguished by its smaller size and by a black band which crosses the
hind wings, which band is entirely wanting in the archippus.
Fig. 5 represents the disippus butterfly. The ground color of the
wings is a warm orange red, with the veins heavy and black, and the
margins spotted with white. In the figure the left wings represent the
upper surface, while those of the right, which are slightly detached
from the body, show the underside; the two surfaces differ but
Bio. 5:
very little in color or markings. The butterfly appears on the wing rather
late in the summer, when it may frequently be seen hovering about willow
bushes, on which the female usually deposits her eggs, that being the
favorite food plant of the larva.
The egg, which is well shown in fig. 6, is a very beautiful object; @
represents it highly magnified, while at ¢ it is shown of the natural size
and in its usual position on a willow leaf. At done of the minute cells
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 47
of the egg is shown still more highly magnified. Mr. C. V. Riley, who
was the first to describe this egg, says that at first it is of a pale yellow
-color, but that it soon becomes gray as the enclosed larva develops. The
Fig. 6.
z
3
—e
Dp,
Ca AT tas a
eggs are usually deposited singly near the tip of the leaf, generally on the
under side, although sometimes on the upper, and occasionally two or
even three are placed together.
In a few days the young larva appears. As it issues from the egg it
measures only one-tenth of an inch long, has a large yellowish brown
head, and a pale yellowish brown body, the latter with darker streaks and
a few pale dots and warts, the warts having pale spines or bristles issuing
from them. ‘The larva attains full growth in about one month from the
time of hatching, when it appears as shown at a, fig.7. It is then about
one inch and a quarter long, with a rather large head, which is flattened
in front and divided by a central depressed line into two lobes, each of
Fig, 7.
which is tipped with a green tubercle or short horn. ‘The head is of a
pale green color, with two dull white lines down the front, and roughened
‘with a number of small green ind greenish white tubercles.
AS THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
The body above is of a deep, rich green color, with patches and
streaks of dull white ; the second segment is smaller than the head, and
thickly covered with whitish tubercles ; the third segment, which is dull
whitish green, is raised considerably above the second, and has a flat
ridge above with a long brownish horn on each side of it thickly covered
with very short white and brown spines ; the fourth segment has a similar
ridge, with a small tubercle on each side, each tipped with a bunch of
short whitish spines. All the segments behind the fourth have two
tubercles, one on each side, of varying size and in a line with the long
horns on the third segment, each being covered with a cluster of whitish
spines. The tubercles on seventh, eighth, tenth and eleventh segments.
have a streak of white at their base, and each segment behind the fourth,
excepting the ninth, has several smaller tubercles of a bright blue color.
A large whitish patch covers nearly the whole of the ninth and parts of
the eighth and tenth segments, and another of a similar character covers.
the second, third and part of the fourth. A white stripe extends along
each side, close to the under surface, from the fifth to the terminal seg-
ments, in which is set a small cluster of whitish spines about the middle
of each segment, from the sixth to tenth inclusive. On each side of the
seventh, eighth and tenth segments is an elongated blackish spot, just
above and behind the spiracles ; the latter are rather large, oval, and of a
brownish black color.
The under side is whitish green, with a central dull white stripe on the
hinder segments ;_ the feet are brown, ringed with brownish black ; the
prolegs pale greenish, faintly tipped with brown.
The chrysalis, fig. 7, d, has a curious mixture of colors—brown, grey,
flesh color and white—and is characterized by a remarkable, thin and
almost circular projection sticking out from the middle of its back, which
has been likened to a Roman nose.
There are two broods of this insect during the year; the larve of the
second brood scarcely attain half their growth when they hybernate, and
complete their developement the following spring. On the approach of
inclement weather the little caterpillar constructs a curious case in which
to dwell, see ¢, fig. 7, which has been likened to the leaf of a miniature:
pitcher plant ; having first, by means of silken cords, firmly secured the
stem of the leaf it uses to the twig on which it grows. These cases are
frequently found upon willow bushes, and also on the American poplar
during the winter season.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 49.
This butterfly is subject to the attack of several parasites ; one a tiny
dark four-winged fly, infests the eggs ; another four-winged fly of a larger
size, and a still larger two-winged fly attack the insect in its caterpillar
state.
MICRO - LEPIDOPTERA.
BY V. T. CHAMBERS, COVINGTON, KENTUCKY.
Continued from Page 11, vol. vi.
ERRATA.—Ante v. 5, p. 229, for Laruna read Laverna.
DRYOPE, gev. 10V.
Primaries lanceolate ; the costa enters the margin about the middle
discal cell narrow and closed by a nearly straight discal nervure. The
subcostal sends off a long curved branch from about its middle, and
which attains the margin behind the end of the cell. From the end of
the cell the subcostal bends somewhat obliquely upwards to the costal
margin. The median is furcate from the end of the cell, both branches:
being short and bending somewhat suddenly downwards to the dorsal
margin, the inner branch being straight and continuous with the discal
vein. The discal vein emits five branches, the superior going to the
costal margin, the next furcate before the tip with one of the branches to
each margin ; the three others go to the dorsal margin.
Secondaries narrowly lanceolate, costal vein short, subcostal very
long, simple, attaining the costal margin near the tip; cell unclosed ;
median vein with three nearly equidistant branches. No discal vein but
an independent branch which arises near the median and attains the
dorsal margin before the apex.
Head smooth ; vertex short and broad ; forehead obtusely rounded ;
face smooth, narrow and much retreating ; tongue long, clothed at the
base. No maxillary palpi; labial palpi short, porrected, densely scaled,
almost tufted beneath ; no ocelli; eyes large, but partly concealed by
some long scales pendant from the swollen basal joint of the antenne,
which are about two thirds as long as the primaries, with the joints:
closely set and microscopically pubescent.
50 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
This genus must approach closely to Chauliodus, Treit., but I can not
reconcile either Mr. Stainton’s or Dr. Clemens’ diagnosis of the genus
with the characters of this insect as to the labial palpi and neuration, nor
do I discern any tooth-like projections of scales along the inner margin
of the primaries. In ornamentation, too, the insect evidently approaches
C. canicinctella, Clem. closely, though evidently distinct from it.
D. Murtfeldtella. N. sp.
Head, palpi, thorax and basal third of the primaries pale yellowish,
the remainder of the primaries being of the same general hue, but darker
and more reddish, the line between the two shades distinct (that is, they
-do not pass gradually into each other).
Al. ex. % inch. Kentucky in June. Also, received from Miss Mary
E. Murtfeldt, of St. Louis.
In many specimens (which should, perhaps, be regarded as a distinct
species) the colors are much more distinct, and the hue varies somewhat,
the basal portion of the primaries having a pinkish cast and the remainder
more of a brownish purple : some of the scales in the apical part of the
wing tipped with hoary or pale yellow ; these specimens are also decidedly
larger than the others.
OENOE, gev. 10v.
Head and face rough, the tuft projecting in front ; tongue short, con-
cealed by the palpi; maxillary palpi long, folded; labial palpi drooping,
the second joint one-third longer than the third, and with projecting
bristles at the apex ; eyes globose ; no ocelli ; antennae nearly two-thirds
as long as the wings, filiform ; the terminal joints with the scales arranged
in whorls, and the basal joint with a few long hair-like scales depending
over the eyes.
Anterior wings lanceolate; discal cell closed by a straight discal
nervure ; costal vein short ; the subcostal from before the middle sends a
branch to the margin behind the middle ; another short branch behind
the middle, from the end of the cell, is slightly bent upwards to the
margin ; the discal vein emits two branches from a common point: the
upper branch attains the costal margin, the second branch sends a branch
to the dorsal margin and becomes furcate before the tip, delivering a
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Bf
branch to the costal and one to the dorsal margin. The median divides
into two branches at the end of the ceil, both branches going to the dorsal
margin ; submedian simple, rather long.
Posterior wings linear lanceolate; the costal margin is excised from
about the middle to the tip; _ the costal vein attains the margin at the
excision ; the subcostal is nearly straight and attains the margin at about
the apical fourth ; discal cell unclosed ; a disco-central nervule is faintly
indicated through the cell, becoming distinct in the apical half of the
wing, when it sends two branches to the dorsal margin and attains the
costal margin just before the apex; the median vein is coincident with
the dorsal margin from the basal third to beyond the middle.
This genus is nearly allied to Eudarcia, Diachorisia, but especially to
Hybroma, Clem., differing, however, from all somewhat both in the trophi
and neuration.
O. hybromella. LN. sp.
Palpi brown and silver gray intermixed ; head yellowish white ;
antenne grayish fuscous, becoming more silvery towards the tip ;_ thorax
and basal half of the forewings maroon brown, with darker brown scat-
tered scales and small spots ; remainder of the wing white, with scattered
brown scales which upon the costa and in the apical portion of the wing
are condensed into loose, rather large, irregular blotches. Alar ex. ¥%
inch. Kentucky.
PERIMEDE, gev. 20V.
This insect is allied to St/bosis, Clem., Laverna, &c. It was captured
in my library, where it had most probably escaped from some of my
breeding cages, but I can give no account of its larval history.
No maxillary palpi; labial palpi slender, rather sparingly scaled,
reaching the vertex, widely divergent ; antennz faintly pectinated, more
than half as long as the wings ;_ basal joint suddenly clavate towards the
tip. Head and face smooth, with the scales appressed; face rather
broad.
Wings long and narrow, with long ciliae.
Primaries longer than the body, narrowly lanceolate. Discal cell
closed, the discal vein giving off one branch to the posterior margin near
the tip. The costal is very short. The subcostal sends two branches to
52 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
the margin before the end of the cell, one from the end of it and one
behind the cell, and attains the margin just before the tip. The median
sends three branches to the dorsal margin. (Probably the discal branch
above mentioned should more properly be considered the terminal portion
of the median and the discal described as having no branches.) Sub-
median simple.
Secondaries linear lanceolate. The costal vein is very long and close
to the margin ; the subcostal attains the tip, its basal half being obsolete.
Discal cell unclosed ; median sub-dividing into four equidistant branches,
the first of which attains the dorsal margin before the middle, and the last
one not far from the tip. -
Imago long, slender, and the single species described below has small
raised tufts of scales upon the primaries.
iP xerranscila.. IV. sp.
Antennae grayish brown ; face and palpi pale grayish, tinged with
purple ; primaries grayish brown, tinged with purple, with three small spots
of raised black scales, the two first of which are margined behind and the
third one before with pale ochreous ; one of these tufts is near the dorsal
margin before the middle, one about the middle of the disc, and one at the
end of it. Under surface and legs whitish, with four distinct dark brown
spots on each side of the abdomen, and the joints of the legs gray
brown. AZ. ex. nearly % inch. Kentucky.
LIST OF COLEOPTERA OF ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MissOUa:
BY S. V. SUMMERS, M. D., NEW ORLEANS,
(Continued from Page 192, Vol. v.)
EUAESTHETUS, Grav. BLeEDIus, Steph.
americanus, £7. _ semiferrugineus, Lec.
Oxyporus, Fab. troglodytes, £7.
vittatus, Grav. pallipennis, Zr.
Osorivus, Lar. fumatus, Lec.
latipes, £7. nitidicollis, Lec.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
BLEDIUS, Steph. (continued)
annularis, Lee.
analis, Zee.
OXYTELUuS, Grav.
insignitus, Grav.
sculptus, Grav.
nitidulus, Grav.
PLATYSTETHUS, JZanz.
americanus, £7.
“TROGOPHLOEUS, JAZann.
morio, £7.
insculptus, Faved.
ANTHOPHAGUS, Grav.
brunneus, Say.
Ho.o.tepta, Pays.
fossularis, Say.
HIsTER, Lzvz1.
binotatus, Zee.
interruptus, Beauv.
depurator, Say.
abbreviatus, ad.
americanus, Pays.
bimaculatus, £27272.
carolinus, Pay.
lecontei, AZars.
immunis, £7.
foedatus, Lec.
harrisu, Azrdy.
sedecimstriatus, Say.
PHELISTER, Mars.
subrotundus, Jars.
vernus, Jars.
‘TRIBALUS, £7.
americanus, Lec.
D3
Acipora, Steph.
subcarinata, Zr.
OLOPHRUM, £7.
rotundicolle, Zr.
emarginatum, £7.
LATHRIMAEUM, £7.
sordidum, £7.
CoryPHIuM, Steph.
notatum, Lee.
GLYPToMA, £7.
costale, 7.
LIsPINus, £7.
laevicauda, Lee.
HISTERID£..
EPIERUS, £7.
pulicarius, £7.
regularis, Lec.
Bacanlius, Le.
punctiformis, JZars.
DENDROPHILUS, Leach.
punctulatus, Lec.
PAROMALUS, £&r.
affinis, Lec.
bistriatus, £7.
conjunctus, Lec.
SAPRINUS, Leach.
assimilis, £7.
seminitens, Lec.
patruelis, Lec.
fraternus, Lec.
AcriTus, Lee.
politus, Lec.
fimetarius, Lec.
exiguus, Lec.
SCAPHIDITID.
SCAPHIDUIM, O/iv.
piceum, J7Ze/s.
4-guttatum, Say.
54 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
SCAPHIDIIDA (continued).
CypaRium, £7. Toxipium, Lee.
flavipes, Lec. gammaroides, Lec.
SCAPHISOMA, Leach. compressum, Zzmm.
convexum, Say.
suturale, Lec.
TRIGBOPTERYGIDA:.
TRICHOPTERYX, A7zrdby.
haldemani, Lec.
PHALACRIDA:.
PHALACRUS, Paya.
politus, JZe/s.
OLIBRUS, £7.
apicalis, Lec.
CEercus, Lair.
abdominalis, Zatr.
Co.astus, £7.
truncatus, Lec.
morio, £7.
semitectus, Zr.
CARPOPHILUS, Leach.
pallipennis, Lee.
hemipterus, Steph.
antiquus, AZe/s.
luridus—
ConorTe.us, £7.
obscurus, £7.
EPURAEA, £7.
helvola, 7.
vicina, Lec.
NiTIDULA, Fad.
bipustulata, Fad.
ZICZAC, Say:
OuipRus, Lr. (continued. )
nitidus, Lec.
bicolor, Zr.
pusillus, Lec.
Nite LIDA:.
PROMETOPIA, £7.
sexmaculata, £7.
OmosiTa, £7.
colon, £7.
PHENOLIA, £7.
grossa £7.
STELIDOTA, 72
geminata, £7.
octomaculata, Lec.
AMPHICRossuUS, £7.
ciliatus, /7.
PaLLoDEs, £7.
silaceus, £7.
CRYPTARCHA, Shuck.
ampla.
Ips, Fad.
fasciatus, Say.
4-signatus, Say.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 55
MONOTOMID 2“.
BAcTRIDIUM, Lec. Monotoma, //ést.
nanum, Lec. americanum, Aude.
TROGOSITID:.
NeEmosoma, Lazr. Trocosita, Oliv.
cylindricum, Lec. mauritanica, Ol7z.
TEMNOCHILA, Westw. corticalis, AZe/s.
viridicyanea, Lec. dubia, AZe/s.
virescens, £7. nana, Me/s.
ALINDRIA. castanea, AZeé/s.
cylindrica, £7. laticollis, Horn.
teres, ec. bimaculata, JZeé/s.
COLYDIID~.
Diroma, £77. PROLYCTUS, 22mm.
quadriguttata, Lec. exaratus, JZe/s.
SyncHITA, Hellwig. CERYLON, Lazr.
granulata, Say. unicolor, Lec.
nigripennis, Lec. castaneum, Say.
AULONIUM, £7.
parallelipipedum, £7.
A DISSERTATION ON NORTHERN BUTTERFLIES.
BY WILLIAM COUPER, MONTREAL.
(Continued from Page 37).
The confinement of the genus Chzonobas to high latitudes affords an
example regarding distribution of species. Their food being lichens
peculiar only to the Alpine regions, must confine them within a limited
range. Mr. Scudder, in his “ Revision of the hitherto known species of
the genus Chionobas, of North America ”—Proceed. Ent. Soc. Philad.,
vol. 5, pp. 26-28—gives them three or four localities ; but these are either
arctic, sub-arctic or Alpine. He places them also in Alpine districts—on
56 THE CANADIAN yp OMOLOGIST.
—_—
high mountains in temperate latitudes in Europe and America. Mr.
Scudder asks ‘‘what relations of structure do the species of these
different localities and varying range of habitat bear to one another ?”
Specific relations are just what we want to have elucidated, but it is
difficult to obtain material for this work while butterflies of the genus
Chionobas are confined to frigid, unaccessible localities. Mr. Scudder
deserves the gratitude of entomologists for his able Revision of the
Chionobas, and in defining the species known to occur in our Northern
and Alpine regions. I may here remark that I did not see a species of
this genus during my two visits to Anticosti, and I cannot account for
their absence from the island.
After returning from Labrador in 1867, I sent Mr. Scudder 9 speci-
mens of a Pieris taken on the south coast of the Lower St. Lawrence, at
Natashquan. His answer, dated Oct. 1st, 1867, is as follows: ‘Pzeris:
‘“‘T am inclined to think this is P. frigida, Scudd., described from Upper
‘¢ Labrador, but I cannot be positive without seeingsome ¢ ¢ from your
“collection.” Ihadno ¢ & at that time, and therefore could not send
them; but I took it for granted that the species was his Pieris frigida.
I made a subsequent collection on the Island of Anticosti and
Labrador, in 1872, and captured a number of the above Peeris at Fox
Bay, as well as on thc south coast of Labrador. The specimens were
distributed to my subscribers under the name of P. frigzda, according to
Mr. Scudder’s determination. The gentlemen receiving the species (all
reputed entomologists) did not doubt that it was anything else than
Scudder’s P. /rigéda until my return from Anticosti this year. I am now
informed by Mr. Grote that the Piers is not frigida, but Ganorts oleracea
var. borealis.
Now, I have before me Mr. Scudder’s paper in Proceed. Boston Soc. ;
of Nat. Hist., vol. viii, Sept., 1861, in which I quote as follows :
‘“* Pieris oleracea, Boisd.
*“* Pontia oleracea, Harris.
“* Pieris cruciferarum, Boisd.
“ Pontia casta, Kirby.
“The butterflies described by Harris, Boisduval and Kirby under the
“above-mentioned names are one and the same insect. It is found
‘inhabiting the northern and eastern portions of North America, reaching
“rarely as far south as Pennsylvania, and extending eastward to Nova
THE CANAI\,y ENTOMOLOGIST. 57
“ Scotia, at least as far west as Lake Superior, while in the North it is
“found as high as the Great Slave Lake in the Hudson Bay Company’s
“territory, and even, according to. Kirby, to Latitude 65° N. on the
‘¢ McKenzie River.”
I have now the mortification of finding that my Anticosti specimen
of what I claim to be a Preris is now Ganoris oleracea; but a var. to be
called dorealis. Mr. Grote says that the species resembles /rigzda, but
that the peculiar elongated wings of /rigzda are wanting.
With a knowledge of the history of the Anticosti Pzeris or Ganoris,
whichever it may be, I am prepared to state that the former does not
agree with the habits of Pieris oleracea, which is double brooded in
Canada and quadrupled in the south, while that of Anticosti has but one
brood during the season.
The egg of oleracea is pear-shaped or oval, of a yellow green color, and
ribbed longitudinally with about fifteen sharp edged lines. The eggs are
deposited singly, rarely more than one on a leaf, on the wwderside. The
egg of the Anticosti Piers is not pear-shaped, but oblong, pointed at
each end, flesh colored, smooth and without ribs. The insect never
deposits eggs underneath the leaves, but on the upper surface of its food
plant (Zurritis stricta), and I have counted six on a single leaf. The.
-caterpiliar of the Anticosti Pers is also different from that of oleracea.
It approaches the color of that of P. rape, but without dorsal or lateral
stripe, and is pubescent. In fact, it is as different from o/eracea as the
caterpillar of the latter is from rape. It occurs to me that the argument
I have advanced regarding the Papilio of the Island applies also to this
Anticosti Pieris. I find that after examining a number, with few excep-
tions, the colors are constant ; and I cannot agree with Mr. Scudder that
the upper surface is ‘supplied with obsolete spots similarly situated to
“‘ those on the upper surface of P. rage of Europe.”
It is possible that the Pieris oleracea of the south and west may be
but races of this northern form. . Mr. Scudder says that ‘No possible
‘step in the gradation from one extreme to the other is wanting, and both
‘extremes are found equally among numerous examples from as widely
‘‘ distant places as Massachusetts and the Great Slave Lake; although
‘“‘the suite of specimens with which I have made my comparisons seems
“to indicate that the paler forms are more commonly met with in the
‘‘ more southern localities, and that more heavily marked ones are the
“* characteristic forms of the north.”
{
\
58 THE CANADIAN ET -OMOLOGISTY.
Mr. Scudder, speaking of a white butterfly taken in Eastern Labrador,.
says that it is very closely allied to, but distinct from P. oleracea. Ina
note following the description of P. frigida, he adds: “It would be
“exceedingly difficult to distinguish this species except by immediate
‘comparison with both sexes of o/eracea ; the differences are more easily
‘‘seen than described, although the extreme limits of variation of oleracea
‘do by no means permit us to include within its boundaries this com-
‘* paratively persistent form ; it is more heavily marked than any specimen
“of oleracea which I have seen.”
The Pieris which Mr. Grote has named Ganoris borealis is found along
two hundred miles of sea-coast on Anticosti ; it is quite abundant on the
north shore of the Gulf, terminating in a western direction in the neigh-
borhood of Seven Islands. It occurs throughout the north, on the
Labrador Islands, into the Straits of Belle Isle, and probably Newfound-
land. Iam aware that P. oleracea occurs at Quebec, and it may extend
on both sides of the St. Lawrence opposite the mouth of the River
Saguenay; but it is not found below the latter river, towards the Gulf.
It seems curious that Pieris frigida or Ganoris borealis should, like Papilio
brevicauda, be confined to the north coast and islands of the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, and that the caterpillar of the Anticosti Pzeris is differently
marked and the habits of the butterfly contrary from that of oleracea.
What is the object of the study of eggs and larvee of insects? Is it not
for the purpose of determining the value of species?
The object in claiming primitive source for some of the northern
butterflies, arises mainly from the fact that in them we discover perman-
ency in form and color, while their geographical range is limited in
accordance with the distribution of their food plants. That species found
scattered over defined circuits are generally tending towards the equator.
That many of these are but figurative races removed from their original
habitat, and have varied through the influence of food and climate.
In this connection I quote an extract from Geographical Distribution
of some Genera of Insects, by Francis Walker, F. L. S., Vol. iv, No. 10
of Can. Ent.: “ In studying the fauna of a mountain it is most suitable
‘“‘to begin with the top, and to trace it downward, where the agencies or
“forms of life become successively more numerous and complicated in
‘their mutual adaptations and limitations, all being as wheels which serve
“to regulate the great living mechanism of which they are the parts. In
“like manner, in noticing the faunas of the two primary mountains into:
+
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 59
“‘which the earth is divisible, their summits being the poles and the
‘“‘ equator their common base, it is advisable to begin with the arctic
“species or with those which have ascended to the highest latitudes. The
‘** difference in soil, in vegetation and in elevation facilitate or hinder the
*“‘ migration and settlement of insects, and help to effect the variety of
* distribution, which is one of the chief attractions in the aspects of
‘* nature.”
MONTREAL BRANCH OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY
OF ONTARIO.
This branch was organized November 11th, 1873. The following
officers were elected for the ensuing year :—President, W. Couper; Vice
President, M. Kollmar ; Secretary-Treasurer, F. B. Caulfield ; Council—
G. J. Bowles, P. Knetzing, C. W. Pearson, W. Hibbins, jr.
The meetings of the Society are held at the residence of the
President, No. 67, Bonaventure Street, Montreal, on the first Wednesday
evening in each month.
ENTOMOLOGICAL COLLECTING TOUR.
We would call especial attention to a notice of an Entomological
collecting tour about to be undertaken by Dr. S. V. Summers, of New
Orleans, La., which will be found on the outside page of cover of our
magazine. This is one of the most extensive undertakings of the sort we
have ever heard of, and is well worthy of the patronage of Entomologists.
The number of specimens guaranteed is extremely liberal, and the returns
will no doubt well repay those who invest in the proffered shares. We
are duly authorized by Dr. Summers to receive monies for shares on his
account, so that any of our readers who may prefer negotiating with us.
will please communicate with our Secretary, Mr. J. H. McMechan.
7
60 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
TO OUR PATRONS.
At a special meeting of the Council of the Entomological Society of
Ontario, held on the roth of February, 1874, Mr. J. Williams, being about
to remove to Montreal, tendered his resignation as Secretary-Treasurer,
which was accepted with regret. Mr. J. H. McMechan having kindly
consented to undertake the duties of the office, was unanimously elected
as his successor. Our friends and correspondents will please bear this
change in mind, and address all remittances and business communications
to J. H, McMechan, Secretary-Treasurer, London, Ontario.
CORRESPONDENCE.
PIERIS Rap#.—About the last of September, 1873, I netted the first
Rape Butterfly that I have ever seen in this part of the country—town-
ship of Dunn, county of Haldimand. It is a male butterfly, as described
fig. 8, vol. 5, No. 3, CANADIAN ENTomoLocist.—F. C. L.
VANESSA G. AaLpuM.—I have lately received from the north-west
coast of British America a specimen of Vanessa G. album. 1 do not
remember hearing of its being found so far from the Atlantic before—W-
H. Epwarps.
BOO NOTICES,
Tilustrations of the Zygaenide and Bombycide of North America, by R. H. Stretch, San Francisco,
California. Parts 8 and 9, with three eolored plates.
The Cincinnati Quarterly Journal of Science, Vol. i, No. i, 8vo., pp. 96.
Catalogue of the Phalaenide of California, No. 2, by A. S. Packard, jr., M. D., 8vo., pp. 40, with one
photograph plate. From the Proceedings of the Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol xvi.
Nature, to February 12, 1874.
Science Gossip, February, 1874.
Newman’s Entomologist, February, 1874.
The Zoologist, February, 1874.
Le Naturaliste Canadien, Fevrier, 1874,
‘The Western Rural, Chicago, to Mareh 7, 1874.
Prairie Farmer to March 7, 1874.
Indiana Farmer to Feb. 28, ,1874.
Canada Farmer, to March 2, 1874.
Maine Farmer to Feb. 14, 1874.
Che Canadwn Entomologist.
VOL. VI. LONDON, ONT., APRIL, 1874. No. 4
NOTES ON THE LABYA AND PUPA. OF
SAPERDA MOESTA, LEc.
BY THE EDITOR.
On the 25th. of March, 1873, I received from P. E. Bucke, Esq., P.
O. Dep’t, Ottawa, a bundle of twigs of the Balm of Gilead tree (Populus
balsamifera), containing larvee of moesta. ‘These larvee were very thickly
set in the branches, in many places not more than an inch or two apart
and situated chiefly at the base of the buds, where the presence of an
occupant was indicated by a swelling in the branch, surmounted by a
dark brown patch of partly decayed bark. The castings and debris of
the food were of a light orange color, and were pushed forward, stuffing
the swollen part. The whole length of the excavation made by each larva >
did not usually exceed an inch, and so much of this towards the front
was filled with debris, that the clear space left was very little larger than -
its body.
The body of the larva was nearly cylindrical, tapering a little posteri-
orly, and about half an inch in length.
Head very small, dark reddish brown in front, with a pale streak down
the centre. Color pale behind ; jaws black.
Body above deep yellow, with a glossy surface, sprinkled with very
minute short yellow hairs, invisible without a lens. Second segment
above and below a little deeper in color, and more horny looking than
the other segments; interspaces between segments strongly indented.
There was a depressed dorsal line not different in color from the rest of
the body, but sunken, and on each side of it the projecting rings of the
body were somewhat flattened. Spiracles pale brown, rather small.
Terminal segment a little more hairy than the others.
62 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
The under surface was similar in color to the upper. I was not able
to detect any trace of feet, although a careful examination was made
with a lens.
No further observations on these larvae were made until May 2, when
I expected to find them in the chrysalis state, but was surprised to find
in the several cells I opened that no pupal enclosure was to be seen, but
that the head, antennae and legs were fully developed, while the wings
and wing cases were only partially so. The wing cases, which covered
the membraneous wings, were not more than one-eighth of an inch long,
and projected out over the sides, spreading almost free from the body. At
their base they were yellowish and semi-transparent, while from about the
middle to the base they were black and covered with the usual small
granulations. The scutellum was indicated by a short black streak
widening anteriorly, while behind this the body was of a dirty yellow
color and soft, flabby consistence. This color and consistence prevailed
below also, behind the base of the legs, while about and anterior to them
the color was black. The insect could move its legs, but was very
sluggish and did not seem disposed to move at all unless disturbed; at
this stage it was incapable of walking. Several of the chambers, which
had been opened with care, were closed end tied up with their occupants
in them; these were examined again on the gth of May, when the abdo-
men was found to have decreased in size and become uniformly dark,
almost black below, with the surface roughened, but still yellow at the
tip. Above there was a large black patch behind the scutellum, covering
nearly one-third of the body, and another large black spot near the tip,
covering the roth and rith segments, while the interspace between these
two segments was of a dark greenish hue; the elytra had lengthened so
far as to cover about two-thirds of the abdomen. ‘The beetle was more
active now, and able to walk, although with difficulty.
On the 16th of May the wing cases of one were found of full length,
but not fully expanded so as to cover the body, while in another case they
were fully developed. The twigs containing these insects had been
allowed to remain in a dry room without any means being taken to keep
them moist, hence they had become quite dry and brittle. On the 24th
of May a fresh bundle of twigs was received from Mr. Bucke, and in
these, while the greater number appeared to have been eaten by wood-
peckers, some five or six specimens were found in a state of chrysalis
one cell was occupied by the pupa of some parasite.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 63
The chrysalis was nearly half an inch long. Body semi-transparent ;
color uniform pale yellow, excepting the eyes and enclosed mandibles,
which were black ; the knee joints were faintly tipped with brown, and a
faint brown line down each side of the scutellum. All the parts of the
insect were plainly visible through the pupa case. The wings were very
small and diverged to each side of the scutellum in a similar manner to
that described on the 2nd of May.
On the 29th of May two of these which had been seen as pupae on
the 24th, had become perfect beetles ; another had its wing cases green,
but its abdomen was yellow and soft; two others were still unchanged
pupae. Early in June all were perfected, the beetles having escaped from
their enclosures by gnawing a neat round hole through the twig, just large
enough to allow of the passage of the body.
Possibly the insects I examined on the znd of May might have
already passed through their pupa stage, and their subsequent slow
developement have been due to the altered condition of the twigs con-
taining them, owing to the dry atmosphere in which they were kept.
OBSERVATIONS ON FORMICA FLAVA, AND INFERENCES
DEDUCTED THEREFROM.
BY THCMAS G. GENTRY, GERMANTOWN, PA.
During the latter part of the month of May, of the spring of 1873,
while reclining upon the ground beneath the shade of a tree growing on
the outskirts of a thicket, the sun at the time beaming in all its glory and
splendor overhead, my attention was suddenly arrested by the activity
and excitement presented by a nest of the ordinary yellow ant, Jormuca
flava. Scattered promiscously upon the earth before me were numberless
larvae in various stages of developement, and not a few of immobile
pupae, brought up from their subterranean domiciles by their ever active
and thoughtful nurses to receive the life-sustaining benefits of the sun-
light, while here and there were a dozen or more of ants that had but
recently escaped from the prison-houses in which they had been confined
—frail, to be sure, and with a pallid, death-like appearance, in conse-
64 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
quence of their long imprisonment, basking in the warmth of the sun to:
dry their bodies and to give color and tone to their systems, preparatory
to entering upon the duties of the formicarium.
The full-grown neuters were the very pictures of restlessness. Con-
sternation was evidently written upon their looks, if I may be permitted
so to speak, and clearly evidenced in their hasty and dubious movements.
The ova, larvae and pupae were being carried away to places of security
beneath the ground, or hustled away to the neighboring grasses, in short,.
wherever their nurses could find safe and comfortable quarters for them.
Looking around me to find the cause of all this turmoil, my eyes soon
rested upon two or three individuals of Sormica subterranea, Lat. which.
had intruded their unbidden presence into this peaceful and _ hitherto:
happy family. There is no doubt that these ruthless invaders of this.
flourishing oasis of ant-life, were bent upon plunder or slaughter.
If pillage was their motive, these giants no doubt soon learned that
if their weaker, more distant kin were unable to cope with them in
strength, they could assuredly make up for its loss in stratagem, sagacity
and numbers.
Not daring to attack their more powerful neighbors, after having
sheltered the more tender, and being unable to defend their comrades
who had just attained perfection and who were necessarily impotent, or
to carry them to places of safety in view of their weight, in order to
defeat the plans of the foe they set to work and destroyed those upon
which but a few days before they had lavished the most endearing.
attentions.
While the major part of the workers were engaged in looking after the
wants of the immature, and manifesting a readiness to provide for their
further safety, should necessity demand it, a few were observed running
about seizing in their mandibles thc newly developed, not to bear them
beyond the reach of danger, as was at first supposed, but to save them a
life of servitude mayhap, at any rate to keep them from falling a living
prey to the rapacity of the enemy.
Knowing by experience the sympathy and affection which the nurses
ever bear towards these frail and tender objects of their care, this act of
inhumanity, so to speak, struck me as peculiarly novel and astonishing.
Prompted by curiosity to know the nature of the wounds inflicted, I
raised a still struggling being up, and having placed it upon the palm of
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 65
my hand, made a careful examination of it by the aid of a small pocket
microscope of twenty diameters. On the superior and inferior aspects of
the abdomen, between the second and third semites, were observed two
deep wounds which met each other in the interior, the mandibles having
penetrated completely.
Several instances of the kind occurred. It cannot be assumed that
these wounds were purely accidental. It might be possible that accidents
of the kind would occur once in a long time through inexperience, but to
argue that insects so habituated to such manipulations as the neuters
assuredly are, would be likely to make such mistakes, when it is known
—especially in the case of larvae, whose integuments and tissues are so
delicate and yielding by reason of early age, that the greatest caution is
necessary, is, in the estimation of the writer, perfectly preposterous.
Admitting, for the sake of argument, an occasional occurrence of the
kind, a successive repetition of it could hardly be justified. But on the
ground that a purpose is thereby subserved, there is no doubt the object
had in view is justified by the means employed for its accomplishment.
What this purpose is the writer will endeavor to show in a few care-
fully drawn opinions. It is a well established fact, as an abundance of
well authenticated instances could be cited by the writer confirmatory
thereof, that many animals of many families and orders, both in the
domesticated and undomesticated conditions, are wont to destroy their
disabled and wounded comrades. In wild animals, in many cases, the
destruction seems to be warranted in order to preserve the herd or pack
from the close pursuit of enemies. Mr. Charles Darwin, in his work
entitled ‘Origin of Species,’ if I mistake not the work, remarks that
“Instinct or reason may suggest the expelling an injured companion, lest
“beasts of prey, including man, should be tempted to follow the troop.”
In tame animals, of which some well authenticated examples are
recorded in the case of the hog, cow, &c., the habit is undoubtedly one
which affords a beautiful and forcible illustration of what is known as the
‘survival of instincts.”
Audubon, in writing of the Wild Turkey (A/eleagris gallopavo), which
is found in great abundance in the far West, observes substantially that
the old males in their marches often destroy the young by picking the
head, but do not venture to disturb the full-grown and vigorous. The
feeble and immature being an encumbrance to the party, it is obvious
that their destruction would tend to the latter’s preservation. Should
66 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
they be actuated by sympathetic and affectionate emotions, it is evident
that the constant watchfulness and attention which the weak would
demand, would necessarily retard the rate of their movement, and doubt-
less lead to the destruction of the entire flock. Here it is plain to the
most obtuse intellect that instinct or reason, the latter, as I conceive it to-
be, operates for individual and family good.
Granting that instinct or reason does sometimes act for individual and
family preservation, in the manner described, the writer does not feel at
liberty to admit that in every case that may arise in which the weak and
disabled are sacrificed, that it is done for the material benefit of the
physically able and robust. How the destruction of the weak and newly
developed ant can result in good to the colony, it is difficult to conceive
in view of the fact that not the slightest effort to escape the danger by
continued flight is undertaken, the sole object being to hide the immature
away from impending danger, either in the natural galleries or underneath
adjoining objects. <A vigilant and powerful enemy, under these circum-
stances, would have very little difficulty in carrying out the very spirit and
letter of his programme.
There seems to ve one of two theories for the writer’s selection.
wherewith to account for in anything like a satisfactory manner, this
strange and abnormal habit upon the part of an insect which has been
proverbially distinguished for its kind and affectionate disposition towards:
the tender beings committed to its trust—either to attribute it to an utter
unwillingness and repugnance to witness its Arofeges made the servants of
a hostile race, or to the survival and exhibition of a habit which was in
vogue far back in the buried ages of the past, when this species of
Formica was migratory or of a roving disposition.
That a feeling of utter repugnance sometimes takes possession of the
nature of some forms of animal existence, when the objects of their
solicitude and care are or are about to be reduced to a state of confine-
ment, and impels them to a course of action which bears the semblance
of inhumanity, will be patent to all from what follows.
In the summer of 1873 a friend of the writer’s having procured a pair
of the young of Zurdus migratorius, Linn., placed them in a cage and
hung the latter on a tree, close to his dwelling, where the parent birds:
could still administer to their temporal well-being. All went well for
several days, and the parents, who had busied themselves in the intervals.
of feeding in their attempts to relieve their offspring, finding all their
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 67
efforts fruitless and ineffectual, flew away, but returned shortly afterwards
bearing in their bills objects of a green color, most probably worms of
poisonous qualities, fed them to the young and left, never to return. A
few minutes afterwards the latter were dead.
It is evident from the above that the parents, finding their efforts of
no avail to relieve their young from their irmprisoned condition, sought
this way of saving them from a life in preference to which death would
assuredly prove desirable. Other instances might be cited, but I forbear
Enough has been written to sustain the writer’s position, that in the case
of Formica flava an unwillingness to suffer any of the colony to undergo
a life of slavery was the controlling motive in the sacrifice alluded to.
If it could be shown in the above cases that any material good was
subserved thereby, or that any advantage was acquired, the author would
be free to admit that Mr. Darwin’s theory to account for the destruction
was the only one competent to explain all the known facts. But from
the foregoing statements it is evident that a desire to save their offspring
and profeges, on the part of parents and guardians, from the condition of
involuntary servitude, no doubt is equally as important.
ON SOME OF OUR COMMON INSECTS.
14. THE COMMON COCKCHAFE R—Latchnosterna quercina, Knoch.
BY GAMBLE GEDDES, LONDON, ONT.
~
Our readers will recognize at once in figure 8, (Lachnosterna
guercina) the common May-bug in its different stages. 1 shows the
chrysalis ; 2 the larva, and 3 and 4 the perfect insect. It appears in some
years in vast numbers, and is greatly complained of, whilst in other
seasons it 1s comparatively rare. This depends chiefly on the long
duration of its developement. The insect flies with a humming noise, so
that one is aware of its approach at the distance of some yards. It
appears principally in May and the beginning of June, and feeds upon
68 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIS'.
several trees, amongst which may be mentioned particularly the cherry
tree, as well as the oak, beech, maple and poplar. It is entirely nocturnal
in its habits, and during the day time is sluggish and seeks shelter under
boards and logs.
The perfect insect is of a chestnut brown color on the back, with a
smooth and shining coat. Underneath it is of a lighter shade of brown.
Fig. 8.
rine
Meas
At
nae
Dui eat Way
After the pairing of the sexes the male soon dies, and the female burrows
into the earth about nine or twelve inches, where she deposits 60 or 70
eggs, after which she comes out and lives but a very short time. These
eggs are soon hatched into small white grubs, which commence almost
immediately to feed upon the rootlets of plants. As they grow the larvae
become great enemies of the agriculturist. | When they are hatched they
are just in time for the tender vegetation of early summer.
In appearance the larva is of a white color, with a light brown head,
and when full grown is about the size of one’s little finger. They are
constantly turning up*when digging and gardening are going on, and crows
and other birds will often follow the plow to pick up the white grub, to
which they are very partial.
At the end of the third summer the grubs stop feeding and bury
themselves deep in the ground, where, in an oval cavity, the change to the
chrysalis state is accomplished.
In this condition it remains for a variable period, and then appears
the perfect insect, which works its way up by degrees to the surface of the
ground.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 69
In the Report of the Entomological Society for 1872, Mr. Saunders
says, in reference to this insect:
“ Every one must be familiar with the May-beetle, or May-bug, as it
is sometimes called, a buzzing beetle, with a rapid but wild and erratic
flight, which comes thumping against the windows of lighted rooms at
night, in May and early in June: and when the windows are open it
dashes in without a moment’s consideration, bumping itself against walls
and ceilings, occasionally dropping to the floor, then rising again sud-
denly, it sometimes lands unexpectedly against one’s face or neck, or it
may be, on one’s head, where its sharp claws get entangled in the hair
and its further progress is stayed until a forcible renioval takes place. At
such times it is quite a terror to those whose nerves are weak.
“Although thousands of these summer’s evening tormentors are
yearly, yea, nightly trodden to death during their brief season, yet
thousands of others rise to supply their places, and sometimes they are
reinforced by armies of tens of thousands. ‘Thenit is that oftimes serious
damage is done to trees, whose foliage they consume, their powerful and
horny jaws being admirably adapted for cutting and grinding the leaves.
Cherry trees are frequently injured in this way, indeed these beetles are
not at all particularas to what they eat; the oak, the Lombardy poplar
and many other kinds of trees are just as readily attacked, if in their
way.”
ON MR. COUPER’S COLLECTIONS OF LEPIDOPTERA MADE
ON ANTICOSTI ISLAND IN 1873.
BY AUG. R. GROTE,
Curator of Articulata, Buffalo Soc. of Natural Sciences.
The butterflies collected by Mr. Couper have been already enumerated
in the “ Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences.” They
were: Vanessa atalanta, Argynnts atlantis, Phyciodes tharos, Glaucopsyche
Couperi, Cyaniris lucia, Ganoris oleracea var. borealis, Papilio brevicauda
and Cyclopides mandan. The moths, as far as the Geometridz, have been
determined by me and were as follows:
70 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Alypia Langtoni, Couper.
Fourteen ~ and two @ specimens received. The males are eight-
spotted, the females six-spotted. ‘The male is correctly described by Mr.
Couper in the Caz. at. It is only with difficulty thatit can be separated
from the male A. octomaculata. ; It appears to differ by the parallelism of
the inferior edge of the basal sulphur spot on the fore wings with the
margin of the wing; in ocfomacula‘a this spot is oblique. Neither the
vine nor Ampelopsis grow on Anticosti, and Mr. Couper states that he
has observed 4. Langtonii ovipositing on the stems of grasses. I have
formerly determined a specimen of A. Langtonii ¢, from Anticosti, sent
me by Mr. Strecker, with other species of the genus, as A. S-macudata.
Haemorrhagia uniformis, (G. & R.)
Fyles chamaenerii, (Harris.)
Lethia gordius, (Cramer.)
Trochilium, sp.
Ten specimens of a species that I do not venture to describe om
account of the number of unidentified descriptions extant in the group.
Platarctia parthenos, (Harris.)
As early as 1864, I drew attention to the probability of Mr. Moesch-
ler’s Arctia borealis being identical with the present species, as also to the
fact that Mr. Moeschler’s papers on the Lepidoptera of Labrador had
been written without reference to Kirby or the writings of American
Entomologists. It is unfortunate for Mr. Moeschler that Mr. Strecker,
whose acquaintance with entomological literature is so slight, should have
been selected to make an unnecessary correction. Until Dr. Packard’s
later separation of the two species is properly contradicted, I do not
understand why they should not be separately cited in & catalogue. Mr.
Couper collected a single female specimen in fine condition, which seems
only to differ from Mr. Moeschler’s figure by the collar not being all red
as Mr. M. paints it, aside from the sexual characters and the greater size.
But Mr. Moeschler’s description accords perfectly with my specimen
where his figure contradicts it. So far as I can see, my specimen in no
way essentially contradicts Harris’ original description and figure in
Agassiz’s ‘Lake Superior.” It is evident, however, that Dr. Packard
separates an allied species from P. parthenos, as the borealis of Moeschler.
Without having seen the material upon which Dr. Packard’s two
descriptions are based, it is useless for me to express. any further
opinion.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. TI
Arctia virguncula, (Kirby.)
A specimen in fine condition. Except that the figures are smaller,.
Mr. Moeschler’s representation of sfeciosa does not seem to me to differ.
I again repeat, provoked by Mr. Strecker’s ill-advised remarks, that I
called the attention of American Entomologists to this fact in 1864, and
it seems to me that to be now charged with an ignorance of Mr. Moes-
chler’s errors, when they were published by me ten years ago, is very
absurd and shows merely that Mr. Strecker’s knowledge of American
Entomological works is not greater than that of Mr. H. B. Moeschler.
Phragmatobia rubricosa, (Harris.)
Habrosyne scripta, (Gosse.)
_ Thyatira pudens, Guenee.
The single specimen is rubbed and appears to have the spots on the
forewings more greyish than usual. It expands 48 m. m.
Agrotis gilvipennis, Grote.
As yet the only described species of the genus from America with
yellow hind wings. Specimens sent to Prof. Zeller for examination were
kindly determined by him as allied to the Siberian A. chardinyz.
Agrotis confiua, (Tr.)
I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Geo. Norman for some frag-
ments of Scotch specimens of this species, and although my comparisons
are not as absolute as I could wish, I feel little doubt that the twenty-four
specimens collected by Mr. Couper belong to this species, which is
apparently not well known on the Continent. Two Swiss specimens in
the collection of the Buffalo Society offer but unimportant differences,
while the species seems to vary in the intensity of the color
and distinctness of the markings. _ I have described this species and the
preceding in the Report of the Peabody Academy, and I am under
obligation to Mr. Geo. Norman for his assistance in this very interesting
determination. According to Dr. Staudinger, the species occurs in Ice-
land, where it is subject to great variation in color.
Eurots occulta, Hubner.
The American specimens are generally more blackish than those from
the Continent of Europe, but seem to agree with the form taken in Scot-
land and the north of England. Mr. Lintner’s Albany specimen was
more purplish and stouter, and like German specimens in the collection.
before me.
72 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
LTyppa xylinoites, Guenee.
One specimen.
Nephelodes violans, Guenee.
One specimen.
FHleliophila commoides, (Guenee).
The three specimens are less reddish on the primaries than my
material from the Middle States, with the dotted t. p. very distinct, but
do not seem to differ specifically.
Pyrophila pyramidoides, (Guenee).
One specimen.
Plusia 8-signata, Sanborn.
One specimen.
Plusia simplex, Guenee.
Several specimens.
Plusia bimacilata, Stephens.
This is Guenee’s P. u-brevis; Mr. Couper’s material is in fine con-
dition.
Plusta mappa, G. & R.
One specimen.
Cucullia intermedia, Speyer ?
One specimen, much rubbed.
Tarache erastrioides, (Guenee).
Drasteria erichio, Guenee.
Two specimens.
MICRO - LEPIDOPTERA.
BY V. T. CHAMBERS, COVINGTON, KENTUCKY.
Continued from Page 52, vol, vi.
CHYSOPELEIA, 2é/1. 710U.
This genus, tbough closely allied to St/bosis, Walshia, Elachista, &c.,
differs from them somewhat as to the palpi, and yet more as to the
neuration of the wings. In the neuration it is near S#/bosis, but in many
respects is nearer [Valshia.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 73-
Anterior wings lanceolate, caudate. The costa attains the margin
about the middle; discal cell long, narrow, and closed by a slightly
oblique discal vein; the costal vein is furcate just before the apex,
delivering one of the branches above and one below it; it also sends
another branch to the costal margin from behind the cell, one at the end
of the cell, and two before it; the discal vein sends a vein to the hinder
margin from a point near the median, which passes straight to the hind
margin, and just before the discal vein sends a branch to the hind margin
also ; the submedian is furcate at the base.
Posterior wings linear lanceolate. Costal vein obsolete ; the subcostal
proceeds straight to the apex, sending a single branch to the Azzd margin
just before the apex; the median is slightly sigmoid, attaining the hind
margin at about the apical one-fourth, and delivering to it three other
branches, the first about the middle. Submedian short.
Wings convoluted in repose, with tufts of raised scales on the anterior
ones, and the tips bent under. ead and face smooth, with appressed
scales ; vertex broader than long ; face much receding and very narrow;
eyes small; antennz sub-pectinate, a little more than half as long as the
wings ; palpi drooping, of moderate size; no visible maxillary palpi;
tongue rather short, scaled; terminal joint of labial palpi acute, and
about two-thirds as long as the second, which is a little enlarged at its
apex.
It is not a typical Laruna, and yet, possibly, ought not to be separated
from it. But I place Stc/bosis, Clem., as my precedent,
C. purpuriella. LV. sp.
Very dark purplish blue, almost black, with an indistinct confused
oblique yellowish fascia about the apical fourth. The tufts are black or
very dark brown; one is placed within the dorsal margin, at about the
basal one-fourth, opposite the space between two others placed opposite
to each other, about the middle, and a fourth at about the apical fourth
of the wing, also opposite the space between the second and third. The
tufts are arranged thus: -'- Alar ex., Y% inch. Kentucky. Larva
unknown.
AEAEA, ge7l. 110U.
Allied to Chrysopelia, Stilbosis, &c.
Primaries lanceolate, tufted ; discal cell narrow and rather acutely
closed ; the costal vein is short and close to the margin ; the subcostal
gives off three branches beyond the middle, and a fourth one from the
V4 "THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
end of the eell, and has a common origin with the apical branch, which
is bifid close to the apex. ‘The median divides into three branches from
the apical part of the cell (the submedian is furcate at the base ?)
Secondaries very narrowly lanceolate. The costal attains the margin
about the basal fourth, and from thence to the tip the margin is excised ;
the subcostal is almost obsolete towards the base and_ passes straight to
the tip; discal cell unclosed; the median divides into three? brenches
(or into two? with an independent discal branch arising so close to them
that I have not been able to determine certainly whether it is connected
with them or not).
Head smooth with appressed scales ; vertex wider than long ; antennz
simple, scarcely more than half so long as the wings, with a somewhat
elongate basal joint. No visible maxillary palpi; labial palpi long and
slender, over-arching the vertex ;_ terminal joint about two-thirds as long
as the second. ‘Tongue moderate, densely scaled towards the base.
A. ostryeedla. iN. sp.
Face, palpi, legs and under surface of the body pale or hoary gray
with a.faint bluish tinge. Vertex, antennae, thorax and primaries dark
steel gray, with a blue or purplish tinge. ‘The basal portion of the dorsal
margin of the primaries pale gray, with many of the scales tipped with
hoary ; behind this lighter portion of the dorsal margin is a rather large
raised tuft of blackish or bluish brown scales. An oblique pale gray or
whitish fascia crosses about the middle of the wing, being widest and
farthest from the base on the dorsal margin, and being margined behind
by two small dark tufts of raised scales. About the apical third of the
wing is asecond fascia of the same hue with the first, and parallel to it,
with a small dark tuft of raised scales on its anterior margin and two
others on its posterior margin, and in the apical part of the wing, on the
dorsal and costal margins and at the apex, three or four other minute
tufts of the same hue. ‘The apical part of the wing and ciliae are
sprinkled with hoary or snow-white, many of the scales being tipped with
that color. AZ. ex. scarcely 4% inch. Kentucky.
The larva mines the leaves of the Ironwood (Ostrya virginica). I
have occasionally, though very rarely, found a single specimen of the mine
in June and July, but in August, September and October nearly every
leaf upon the trees will have its mine, and many leaves will contain
several. ‘The larva is yellowish white, with the mouth ferruginous, and
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 75
two small brownish spots on top of each of the next three segments after
the head, and is nearly cylindrical. It is exceedingly difficult to rear the
imago, mainly, I think, because the Osfrya leaves dry up so. quickly, and
the larva will seldom make a new mine after leaving an old one, though I
have sometimes known it to do so. It leaves the mine to pupate in a
small whitish ovoid cocoon among the leaves on the ground. The mine
isa singular one. In the natural way it begins at the junction of a vein
and the midrib, and extends along the midrib to the next vein ; there the
parenchyma is taken out between the two veins and with the frass a little
tube is constructed along the midrib, and from the mouth of the tube to
the edge of the leaf two walls of frass are constructed, between which the
larva, when disturbed, retreats into its tube. In the breeding cage, when
the leaves are bent or the larva is crowded, it will sometimes vary the
form of its mine, or even form a new one, but I doubtif ina state of
nature it ever passes beyond the midrib or the two veins. From probably
three hundred mines which I have gathered, I have not succeeded in
raising half a dozen insects, and Dr. Clemens does not seem to have met
with better success, for he does not seem to have been acquainted with
the imago, though he mentions the mine and larva in his letter to Mr.
Stainton of Oct. roth, 1859, which is published with an excellent figure
of the mined leaf in Mr. Stainton’s edition of the Clemens Papers, page
a5
THEISOA, geil. 700.
Maxillary palpi microscopic; labial palpi ascending above the vertex
4a little longer than in E/achista). Antennae simple, more than half as
long as the wings. Head and face smooth.
Primaries lanceolate ovate ; the costal attains the margin just before
the middle. Discal cell very narrow, and closed by a very short discal
nervule ; the subcostal sends a branch to the margin from before the
middle, another from near the end of the cell, and then is deflexed to
meet the discal vein, beyond which it sends another branch to the costal
margin and there becomes furcate before the tip, delivering a short branch
‘to each margin near the tip. The discal vein is short, straight, a little
oblique, and without branches. The median vein gives off to the dorsal
margin a single branch beyond the middle, and becomes furcate just
beyond the end of the cell. The submedian is furcate at the base.
Posterior wings linear lanceolate. ‘The costa slightly excised from the
middle to the tip ; the costal vein is near the margin, which it attains at
76 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
—_—_—
the excision; the subcostal passes nearly straight to the apex, its basal
half being obsolete; it gives off no branches. Cell unclosed ; the
median sends a.branch to the dorsal margin about the basal fourth, and
becomes furcate about the apical third. Wings horizontal in repose.
Ciliae of both wings moderately long. The neuration of the primaries.
is very nearly the same with that of the next described genus, Phzlonome,
but is still nearer to //achista, from which, however, this species differs in
having the wings horizontal in repose, and the antennae longer and more
pointed.
T. bifasciella. iN. sp.
Palpi silvery white; face white, tinged with golden yellow, which
deepens towards the vertex, where it becomes pale ochreous; antennae
with alternate annulations of white and dark brown; thorax and basal
third of the primaries pale saffron, slightly suffused with fuscous; at the
basal third of the primaries is a silvery white fascia dark margined
internally, and thence to the tip the wing is pale saffron yellow, suffused
with fuscous and white and becoming darker towards the apex; at the
apical third is a second white fascia, which is frequently very indistinct
or even obsolete, except upon the costa, where it is oblique, distinct and
strongly dark margined internally, or rather with a dusky spot on the costa
before it. Cuiliae dusky yellowish. AZ ex. nearly % inch. Kentucky in
May. Larva unknown.
ELACHISTA.
Lt. praematurella ? Clem.
This species belongs to the sub-group containing £. wnigrela of
Europe. Possibly it may prove to be one of the European species. I
am not absolutely certain that my captured specimens belong to
praematurella, as I have not seen any of Dr. Clemens’ specimens, and do.
not, indeed, know that there are any extant. I do not know its food
plant, though from the frequency with which | have found its corpse-like
pupa on fallen leaves in “blue grass” pastures, I suspect that it mines
that species (Poa pratensis), and this suspicion is strengthened by the
fact that other species of the same group mine plants of the same genus
in Europe. Dr. Clemens was not acquainted with the food plant of
praematurella. In my specimens the costal and dorsal spots are opposite
as Dr. Clemens describes Araematurella, but the fascia is a little oblique,
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. "7
being a little nearer to the base on the costal than on the dorsal margin,
and the wing before the fascia has a grayish hue, occasioned by minute
white dusting, and Dr. Clemens does not mention these particulars in
praematurela; but a more decided difference is that in praematurela the
fascia is ‘‘ just behind the middle,” whilst in this species it is just before
it. My specimens are near &. gregsoni, as figured by Mr. Stainton, but
have less white at the apex. But the species of this group are very
difficult to distinguish without comparison of bred specimens, and I have
not thought it necessary to separate my specimens from fraematurella. It
is the only true Z/achista that I have thus far met with here, though some
of the immediately preceding genera approach this genus closely. Like
pracmaturedla, my specimens appear early in April.
BOOKS Sec EIVED.
The first number of “ The Cincinnatti Quarterly Journal of Science,”
published in January, came to hand in due season. It is a well got up
octavo serial of 96 pages ; editor and proprietor, S. A. Miller, Cincinnatti,
Ohio ; price, three dollars per year. Among the more interesting original
papers contained in this number we notice one by our esteemed friend
and contributor, V. T. Chambers, of Covington, Ky., on Fresh Water
Entomostraca, and among the selected articles, ‘‘ Facts in the Physiology
of Spiders and Insects,” and ‘‘ Movements of Insects on Dry, Polished
and Vertical Surfaces,” both by John Blackwell, from the Jour. and Pro.
of the Linnean Society. In addition to these there are a number of
interesting original and selected papers on Geology, Botany, Zoology, &c.
We sincerely wish this new journal success.
Illustrations of the Zygzenide and Bombycide of North America, by
Richard H. Stretch, San Francisco, vol. 1, parts 8 and 9. These two
parts issued together complete the first volume of Mr. Stretch’s excellent
work on the Zygeenide and Bombycide. ‘These latter parts contain three
colored plates, two of moths, illustrating 29 species, and one of larvae,
containing 11 species. The whole volume consists of 242 pages octavo
of letter-press, with ten well finished colored plates, on each of which a
number of species are faithfully delineated. In this work—in addition to
78 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
the author’s own material—are brought together a large number of facts and
details hitherto scattered throughout the various scientific journals and
publications, relating to the members of this interesting family. We hope
Mr. Stretch will receive such encouragement from Entomologists as will
reward him for his valued labors in this department, and stimulate him to:
further efforts.
Catalogue of the Phalaenidz of California, No. 2, by A. S. Packard,.
jr., M. D. This is an octavo pamphlet of 40 pages, with one photograph
plate, illustrating 24 new species, detailed descriptions of which are given
in the accompanying letter-press, together with many other interesting.
facts relating to other Californian species.
EDITORIAL SUMMARY.
MR. RILEY RECEIVES A HANDSOME TESTIMONIAL.
The following correspondence explains itself:
AGENCE CONSULAIRE DE FRANCE A ST. LOUIS, |
Sr. scours, Mo... Fup.23, 1674. j
Prof. Chas. V. Riley, State Entomologist, St. Louis, Mo. :
Dear Sir.—I have the honor to inform you that his excellency, the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, has forwarded to me through the Consulate
of New Orleans, the gold medal awarded to you by the Minister of
Agriculture and Commerce, of France, in appreciation of discoveries in
economic entomology, and especially of services rendered to French
grape culture.
I congratulate you sincerely on this well deserved compliment. _ It is.
a proof that your talents and labors have been recognized by very high
and competent judges.
Accept my assurance of the high regard with which I am, yours.
respectfully, EMILE KARST,
Agent Consulaire de France.
The medal is of gold, very heavy and handsomely finished. _ It is
round, probabiy an inch and a half in diameter, and bears upon its face
the head of the Goddess of Liberty, in bas-relief, with the words :
“Republique Francaise.” Upon the reverse is :
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 79
“Mr. Riley, a St. Louis, Missouri, Services Rendus a La Viticulture
Francaise, 1873,” encircled by “ Ministere de l’Agriculture et du
Commerce.”
The following is Mr. Riley’s acknowledgement :
ST. Louis, FEB. 23, 1874.
Emile Karst, Agent Consulaire de France :
My Dear Sir.—Your favor of to-day is at hand. Knowledge, to the
seeker after it, brings with ita reward far higher and more lasting than
any outward token. Yet am I gratified to receive this testimonial of
appreciation from the French Republic ; because it shows that, while
endeavoring. as a servant of the State of Missouri, to do what lies in my
power for the advancement of agriculture within her borders, my efforts
have been appreciated elsewhere. It illustrates that science—the true
interpretation of nature’s workings, and mighty lever to civilization and
progress—is not local, but sheds her bright beams among all nations. It
proves that the discovery of any fact tending to promote the comforts
and conveniences of human existence, or, as Bacon so tersely expresses
it, Aumanis commodis inservire, belongs not to one State alone, but to the
world. Yours respectfully,
C. V. RILEy, State Entomologist.
THE PHYLLOXERA.
The following article from the Bulletin des Sceances de la Society
d’Agriculture de France, 1872, p. 514, may be of interest to some of our
vine-growers as showing the good effect of an application of soot for the
destruction of the grape-vine root gall-louse. However, not having tried
the soot ourselves, we can only give the experience of others, and add
that Dr. Erni, formerly chemist to the Department of Agriculture, in a
letter from Berne, Switzerland, has also highly recommended the use of
soot for the same insect.
“M. Rogier, mayor of Poule Gard, exhibited to the central society of
agriculture the results obtained by the use of soot in the treatment of
vines attacked by the phy/oxera. A young vine attacked by this insect
in 1869, was treated with soot put at the foot or root of each stem, in the
quantity of a half kilogram, (about one and one-tenth of a pound.) The
vine recovered. ‘The following years all the stems which composed it
were smoked with soot. ‘This vine has a remarkable vigor, while the
neighboring vines were dead or seriously injured. All vines treated with
80 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
soot, used as a preservative compost, are healthier, although surrounded
with diseased vines.”
We give the above extract for what it is worth, and hope some of our
correspondents will try soot and report the result to the Department, as
we have scarcely any of these destructive insects in our own immediate.
neighborhood. In reference to this insect, the grape-root gall-louse, the
Department has received a very interesting letter from Mr. George W.
Campbell, of Delaware, Ohio, in which he expresses his opinion that the
aphis (pemphigus) affecting the leaves and that upon the roots are not
identical. He says:
‘‘T have since then found in two instances what were doubtless eggs of
the phylloxera (root-gall-louse) upon diseased roots the same as those
within the galls, but solitary, and not in clusters as in the galls. This, I
think, settles the question that the aphides infesting the roots are propa-
gated under ground, upon the roots, and that they are probably not the
same as are propagated in the galls upon the leaves.”
Mr. Campbell also sent specimens of the roots injured, together with
numerous root gall-lice clustered upon them, but although carefully ex-
amined with the microscope, we failed to find any eggs whatever upon
the roots sent. These roots, however, have been planted just as received,
with the insects upon them, in a flower-pot, and placed in a large wardian
case in close contact with other pots containing heaithy vines, in order
to find out if the insects will pass from one vine to another during the
winter, and if the healthy roots will next season be infested with either
root or leaf gall-lice. We give Mr. Campbell’s remarks merely to stimu-
late further inquiry into the identity of the two insects, as many naturalists
have stated them to be merely varieties of the same insect. In France,
it appears that flooding the vineyards at certain seasons to drown the
insect out has been recommended, but this plan, even if successful, could
only be carried out in level places, and could not be adopted in side-hill
vineyards. Monthly Report of the Department of Agriculture.
CoRRECTION.—We would draw attention to an error which appeared
in Dr. Summers’ advertisement last month, and which will be found cor-
rected in the present issue. It is in reference to the time up to which
shares may be secured of the materig!to be collected in the lengthened
tour he is about to undertake. It slivuk)be up to December, 1874, instead
of April; after that date specimens only will be for sale; we have a few
yet to dispose of,—parties desiring them will please address our Secretary.
Che Canadian Entomolomst,
VOL. VI. LONDON, ONT., MAY, 1874. No. 5
ON SOME OF OUR COMMON INSECTS.
15.—THE COCCINELLID&.
ee
BY R. V. ROGERS, KINGSTON.
“ Of all the painted populace that live in fields and live ambrosial
lives,” there is scarcely a family better known than those which compose
the last of all the tribes of Hard-shells, the Coccinellide. To the young
and to the old, to the illiterate and to the scientist, they are equally
familiar and equally interesting. | Popular sympathy is extended towards
them by the elders because they do much good in preventing the excessive
multiplication of Aphides ; by the juveniles because they are very pretty
little things and tamely pitter-patter to and fro, and their supposed mis-
fortunes affect deeply sensitive little hearts, while infantile accents lisp
‘* Lady-bird, lady-bird, fly away home ; your house is on fire, your children
are burned.” They are distinguishable chiefly by the colors of and the
spots upon their wing covers ; the different species are sometimes difficult
to discriminate ; they number upwards of one thousand, and more than
thirty species are known to inhabit Canada.
The general colors of the Coccinellidz are yellow, red or orange, with
black spots, and black with red, white or yellow spots, the spots being
either lunate or round. Their shape is hemispherical, and although of
variable size, an average specimen “bears a considerable resemblance
in size and figure to an ordinary split pea; they have but very short legs
and therefore creep but slowly; their powers of flight, however, are
considerable.” When alarmed or laid hold of, they fold up their tiny
limbs and eject from the joints a yellow, mucilaginous fluid, which has a
somewhat strong and disagreeable odor. This fluid entitles the pretty
Lady-birds to be ranked among the materia medica, and to be assigned a
place in the Phamacopceia, for it is a superior, cheap and never-failing
82 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
—— =
remedy of that most harrowing of pains, the tooth-ache. The learned
President of the Entomological Society of Ontario says that he has never
possessed sufficient courage to test its qualities himself, but a well-known
American brother of the net and bottle tells us that he tried this applica-
tion in two instances, and the tooth-ache was immediately relieved ;_ but
he confesses that he was uncertain whether the remedy or the faith of the
patient acted therapeutically, or the tooth ceased troubling of itself. Let
us be charitable and give the benefit of the doubt to the preity little
beetle.
The Germans call these insects WJWJarien-kaefer, Lady beetles
of the Virgin Mary; while in France they have the equally fine names of
Vaches de Deice, or Betes dela Vierge, Cows of the Lord or animals of the
Virgin. And they have good claims to be held in such esteem, for they
are most beneficial to man in destroying the plant-lice, which, if allowed
to go on propagating and increasing unchecked, would soon reduce the
most fertile country into a barren and a howling wilderness. Lady-birds
both in their perfect and in their larval state, feed on these lice, and, pro-
videntially, few trees, plants or shrubs infested by these disgusting and
destructive creatures are to be found whereon is not also this antidote for
them. The grubs, which are of a flattened shape and darkish color,
spotted usually with red or yellow, and furnished with six short legs near
the fore part of the body, are far more voracious than the mature insect ;
they creep along on the leaves of plants until they find the helpless
Aphides, among which they ravage and riot like wolves in a sheep-cot,and
then, doubtless, many a heart-broken Aphis parent,’ pointing to the
aldermanic proportions of the lady, exclaim: ‘‘ Foul murder hath been
done ; lo! here’s the proof !”
Occasionally Lady-birds occur inimmense swarms. Kirby and Spence
relate that on one occasion the banks of the Humber were so thickly
strewn with the common species, that it was difficult to walk without
treading upon them; at another time they covered in great numbers the
sand-hills of Norfolk, and again, the cliffs of Kent and Sussex, “ to the
no small alarm of thejsuperstitious, who thought them the forerunners of
some direful evil.”
The eggs of these little creatures are long and oval,of a yellowish color
and deposited in patches, oftimes among a colony of plant-lice, so that,
thanks to the wondrous instinct of the mother, the larvae have not far to
crawl to get their first hearty meal.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 83
The larvae consume immense quantities of Aphides, and may be seen
-chasing, or rather, stalking the plant-lice, and eating them one after the
other, taking the whole set on a leaf or stem in regular order. ‘The larvee
(see fig. 9) are rather long, oval, soft-bodied and pointed behind, with the
Fig.9. | prothorax larger than the other rings, often gaily colored and
beset with tubercles or spines.” After having eaten voraci-
ously for the appointed time, the larva attaches itself by its
tail to a leaf or a twig—after the fashion of a caterpillar—and
either throws back its skin or else keeps it loosely folded about
it as a protection; in this position it remains quiescent for some
‘ten or fifteen days, and then emerges a perfect insect. .
We will now briefly refer to sume of the well known Coccinellidae
which make the Dominion of Canada their home.
The Two-spotted Coccinella, C. dzpunctata, Linn.,is our most common
species. They appear to have two broods each season; the eggs are of
an orange yellow, and attached in bunches of about twenty-five to the
bark of trees. They hatch out when the leaves and their natural article
of diet, the Aphis, appear. ‘The body of the larva is black, with flattened
tubercles, adorned on top with spines; on each side of the first abdominal
segment is a yellowish spot, and there is another broad one in the middle
of the fourth segment, and one on each side. Packard thus describes the
modus operandi of the larva becoming a pupa, and the appearance of the
pupa itself: ‘‘ The larva begins the operation by attaching very firmly,
with a sort of silky gum, its tail to the leaf, the point of attachment not
being the extreme tip, but just before it, where the tip of the abdomen
of the pupa is situated. Meanwhile the body contracts in length and
widens, the head is bent upon the breast, and in about 24 hours the skin
splits open and discloses the pupa. The body of the pupa is black ; the
head is also black, and the prothorax is black and yellowish pink, with a
black dot on each side, and a smaller black dot on each edge. ‘The
meso-thorax, wing-covers, scutellum and legs are shining black. The
abdominal rings are pale flesh-colored, with two rows of large black spots
on each side, the spots being transverse ; the terga of the fourth to the
seventh segments are separated, the body being arched and _ Fig. 10.
leaving a deep furrow between.” ws
The Nine-spotted Coccinella, C. xovem-notata, Herbst. (see
fig. 10), is one of our most common beetles, and may be found -
in all parts of our Dominion; it is of a red brick color, somewhat
Ҥ4 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
larger than the Two-spotted, and ornamented with nine black:
spots.
The Plain Lady-bird, C. munda, Say. (see fig. 11), is rather smaller
than the others of its kind, of a light brick red, but with its elytra.
Fig. 11. unadorned with any spots.
The Three-banded Coccinella, C. ¢rifasctata, Linn, is
of ared brick color, marked with two irregular black bands.
, across the elytra, and a black spot near the posterior angle.
It is of an intermediate size between its cousins, the Two-spotted Lady-
bird and the Fifteen-spotted Mysia.
The Spotted Lady-bird, zppodamia maculata, De Geer (see fig. 12) is
a small pinkish beetle, but occasionally of a pale red, with large Fis- 12.
black blotches twelve in number; two of them on one elytron S@y
are opposite to and touch two on the other. Mr. Riley says that *%,
this insect commits great havoc upon the Chinch Bug, and upon
the eggs of the Colorado Potato Beetle.
The Thirteen-dotted Lady-bird, 7. 73-punctata, Linn. (see fig. 13) 1s.
Fig.13. rather larger than the preceding: it has Pig. 14.
thirteen black spots on a brick red y *
¢
|
ground.
B c
color, marked with black and white. It has been of great use in checking
the ravages of that destructive pest, the Colorado Bug; its larva is blue,
orange and black, and in its pupa state it is of the exact color of the
larvae of the Colorado Beetle, for which it is often, doubtless, mistaken
and ruthlessly destroyed.
The Convergent Lady-bird, A. con-
vergens, Guer. (see fig. 14) is of a deep orange red
The Parenthetical Lady-bird, 77 parenthesis, Say, is a small beetle of
a dull red color, and can be easily distinguished at a glance by the dark
marks, curved like the bands of a parenthesis (_ ), one on the hinder
part of either wing cover; there are two black spots on each elytra,
besides the parenthesis, one on the anterior part and the other on the
inner margin, touching the one on the other cover.
The Fifteen-spotted Mysia, AZysza 75-punctata, Oliv., is black on the
head and prothorax, with seven black spots on each of the brownish red
elytra, and another on the scutellum, according to Packard. But it
appears to vary much in its perfect form and in color from a very light
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 85
grey toa deep chestnut brown. The larva, which is about half an inch
in length, black on the upper surface, with a pale spot on the under edge
of the prothoracic ring, and furnished with six rows of stout spinulated
spines, 1s an inveterate foe to the larvae of the Colorado Beetle, and on
page 169 of the third volume of the EnromoLocisr we have a most
graphic account of the summary way in which the young lady despatches
‘the grub.
The Chilocorus bivulnerus, Mulsant (see fig. 15) is an obese little
Pig. 16. thing, with minute legs, of a black color, and beautified
with two yellow spots.
Such. area few of the very many Lady-birds that creep
among our trees and adorn our Entomological cabinets.
REMARKABLE VARIATIONS IN COLORATION, ORNAMEN-
TATION, &c., OF CERTAIN CREPUSCULAR AND
NOCTURNAL LEPIDOPTEROUS LARVZ#.
BY THCMAS G. GENTRY, GERMANTOWN, PA.
Having spent considerable time during the past season in the collection
-and study of various larval forms of our twilight and night-fliers, I was
peculiarly impressed with the novel colors, markings, and external
structural characters presented by those that were taken late in the
autumn, at the period when the leaves were donning their autumnal hues.
“To one who has rendered himself familiar with their usual outward
characters, a moment’s inspection was sufficient to show a marked
contrast between those taken early in the season, when the leaves were
fresh and green, and those captured later, when the foliage of the trees
had sustained a check to their vitality. That these larval changes have
a producing cause it shall be my aim to show in the conclusion of the
present article.
Of the many specimens taken by the writer during the past season,
and they were confined to but a few species of as many genera, none
-exhibited these variations more clearly and prominently than Zé/ea poly-
86 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
phemus (Attaus polyphemus of Fabricius), Actias @una, Linn. ( Attacus:
Juna of Fabricius), “acles imperialis of Hubner, and the Sphinx guingue-
maculata of authors. Before entering into a description of the anomalous
forms, the writer deems it not amiss to detail, the leading characters of
the normal ones after their last skin moulting, and just prior to their
assumption of the chrysalis condition.
Actias luna, Linn.
Attacus tuna, Fabr. (normal.)
Des.—Length of caterpillar, three inches. General color, pale bluish
green. Head nearly elliptical, somewhat pearl colored. Oral appendages.
similarly colored. A pale yellow stripe extending along each side, just.
below the line of spiracles, from the first to the tenth segment; narrow
transverse bands of a similar color between the rings, continued from side-
to side, crossing the dorsum. On each ring there are six pearl-colored
warts, tinged with purple, and at the posterior part of the abdomen three
brown spots, edged above with yellow. Specimens captured in August
whilst feeding upon the Black Walnut ( Fuglans nigra.)
Variety of same.
Des.—Length, two and three-eighth inches. General color, reddish.
brown inclining to dullness. Head and oral appendages similar. The-
lateral and transverse stripes wanting, passing, no doubt, through the
various shades of yellow, orange, red, into the general color of the body.
Posterior brown abdominal spots present, but lacking the yellow edging.
and shining very conspicuously from the depth of their color. The six
pearl-colored warts, with their purple tinge, have assumed a richer hue,.
blazing like a coronet of rubies. Taken in October, early part, while:
feeding upon Fuglans nigra. Cocoons of a beautiful reddish brown..
Number of specimens taken, six.
Telea polyphemus (normal).
Des.—Length, three inches. General color, golden green. Head:
light brown, nearly elliptical; mouth pieces similarly colored. A
transverse, conspicuously-colored yellow band on the posterior margin of
the pro-thoracic segment. Six rows of gold-colored warts, two dorsal,two
lateral, and two sub-lateral, reaching from the meso-thoracic to the eighth
abdominal ring; each wart tipped with two moderately long blackish
hairs. Between the rings, from the fourth to the tenth segment, a trans-
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 87
‘
verse yellow band. Spiracles transversely oval, with brown centres,
encircled with yellow. Taken during the latter part of August, while
feeding upon Acer rubrum.
Variety of same.
Des.—Length 234 inches. General color green, with a stronger and
richer tinge of yellow. Head and oral appendages a deeper shade of
brown than the preceding. The warts of the color of red sealing wax along
the back, but upon the lateral walls somewhat elongate oval in shape, of
an orange color in the middle, deep red above and below, and with a
narrow vein of the latter color encircling the whole. Spiracles trans-
versely oval, red in the centre, and surrounded by an orange-colored
border. Taken during the second week of October while feeding upon
the leaves of Acer rubrum. Number of specimens captured, twelve.
These caterpillars have a very close resemblance in markings to the
normal form of the larva of A. Zuna.
Lacles imperialis, Hubner (normal).
Des.—Length, four inches. General color, varying from a dark to a
light green. Head nearly elliptical, dark brown. Oral appendages
similar in color. Six rows of spiniferous tubercles, two dorsal, two
lateral, and two sub-lateral, extending from the first to the last segment.
The meso and meta-thoracic spines moderately long and slightly curved ;
spiracles oval, with dark centres and yellowish margins. ‘The entire larva
invested with a dense growth of long gray hairs. Taken during the last
week of August, and the early part of September. This species has been
observed to feed upon Funiperus Virginianus, F. communis, Acer rubrum
and the various species of Pimus. I might add here that for the past
four years, in the neighborhood of Germantown, it seems to have deserted
in a great measure Coniferous plants, and to have taken to Acer rubrum.
Where I find one upon cone-bearing plants, I discover twenty upon the
Red Maple.
Several varieties of the dmferialis of Drury have becn observed as
late as the 12th of October, exhibiting marked contrasts from the normal
form, and varying slightly from each other in the details of color
and marking.
Variety A.
Des.—Length, two and three-fourth inches. General color, reddish
brown. Head and oral appendages similarly colored. Spines small in
88 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
proportion to size. Entire body slightly invested with short scattered
hairs. ‘Two specimens only taken, while feeding upon Acer rubrum.
Variety B.
Des.—Length, two and a half inches. General color dark brown,
exhibiting in certain parts a decided shade of black. In other particulars
identical with Variety A. Found at the base of a pine tree. Most likely
had been dislodged therefrom. It had evidently not attained its full
size, since it continued to feed for nearly a week afterwards. | No appar-
ent change was observed in its color from the above, at the time of
entering the ground.
Variety C.
Des.—Length, nearly three inches. General color light yellowish brown,
with a dark median dorsal band an eighth of an inch long, extending
from the posterior margin of the pro-thoracic to the beginning of the
anal segments; a much wider one above the line of spiracles, and a
similar one above that of the pro-legs. These longitudinal bands were
crossed between the rings by transverse ones, similar in color. Spiracles
with dark centres and yellowish rims. Entire larva presented a perfectly
smooth surface, affording a striking contrast to that of the normal type.
Taken upon Acer rubrum. Six specimens captured.
Sphinx 5-maculata (normal),
Des.—Length, three inches. General color, green. Head and oral
appendages dark, inclining to black. Lateral, oblique, beaded bands of a
light color, seven in number, each band passing obliquely through two
segments, from the first abdominal to the analinclusive. Spiracles nearly
circular, with dark centres, surrounded by light annul. Caudal appen-
dage nearly black, somewhat armed with rudimentary spines. Taken in
the early part of September, while feeding upon the different varieties of
our ordinary white potato, Sofanum tuberosum, L., the common Jamestown
Weed, Datura stramonium, \.., and the cultivated tobacco, /Vécotiana
tabacum, L..
Variety of same.
Des.—Length, varying from two and a half to two and three-fourth
inches. General color dark, bordering on black, rivalling that of the
head of the normal form. Lateral oblique bands similarly colored with
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 89
‘the body, their outline being indicated by the prominence due to their
beaded structure. Spiracles dark, with no trace of light annuli. Observed
during the middle of October, in the vicinity of Bristol, Penn., feeding
upon the frost-bitten leaves of (Vicotiana tabacum.
CONCLUSIONS.
That the abnormal forms described above should present such curious
deviations from the ordinary normal type, is to me a rather interesting
occurrence. That they are to be considered as the effects of a legitimate
cause is a settled conviction in my mind. What the cause is it will be
my aim to show. Happening at a period when the leaves of plants show
a diminished state of vitality, and are assuming the characteristic hues of
the season in consequence of the introduction of chemical changes into
their parenchymatous material, it seems that the variations are in some
way connected with defective nutrition. The unusually small sizes of the
larvae, when compared with the normal forms, add great weight to such
an opinion.
It will be seen that the colors of the caterpillars rival those of the
changing leaves. In few cases all the transitional color stages from the
natural one of the larva to that which is last assumed, were distinctly
observed by the writer, thus clearly proving the two facts to be connected
‘with each other in the relation of effect and cause.
If the beautiful and varied shades of green which many caterpillars
present can be attributed to the green and granular chlorophyl of the
leaves upon which they subsist, the conclusion must be irresistible that
when chemical or other changes are inaugurated in the parenchyma of the
leaf, thereby inducing color changes, the introduction of such food into
the insect’s economy must give rise to changes therein which will have a
tendency to vary its external coloration and markings.
’Tis true that the variable colors of animals in many cases are
brought about through the influence of the zz/7, The changeableness of
our ordinary y/a versicolor, Lec., might be cited as an example, and the
number of such might be prolonged to considerable length, but the
cases are so numerous and so well known that it would not be advisable
to give them notice in a paper like the present. In the above example
the color variableness serves to conceal the animal from its enemies by
adapting it to the colors of objects upon which it chances to, place itself.
90 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
——
I do not know of any recorded instance where the larvae of the countless:
numbers of our Lepidoptera possess a similar faculty. Indeed, had such
a case been observed, especially in a single individual of any of the above
genera, I should assuredly have characterized it as one where the animal
possessed the power of altering its color, in accordance with the dictates:
of a “will principle,” whereby its protection was secured. This power
of adaptation to the colors of the insects’ natural food, being protective
in its character, would be preserved, and thus, in the course of time, all
the individuals of the species would adopt it.
But I am satisfied that the will (for assuredly these humble forms of
animal life are endowed with a small degree of it) has nothing to do with
these color transformations, but aver that they are due to the effects of a
changed nutrition, as specimens, as above asserted, were observed exhi-
biting the transitional stages.
It has been shown by a French experimenter, according to the
Chronique de la Society @ Acclimatation, that by feeding silk-worms on the
leaves of the vine, cocoons of a beautiful red have been obtained, and by
the employment of lettuce, others of a rich emerald green. By another
Frenchman, silk of a beautiful yellow, of a fine green, and of a violet
have been obtained by feeding the silk-worms on lettuce or on white
nettle. An essential condition to the success of the experiment is to feed
the worms on the mulberry leaves during their early ages, and to change
the food twenty days prior to the introduction of the chrysalis state.
There can be no doubt that the silk-bearing glands of the caterpillars
undergo a certain degree of modification, consequent upon the intro-
duction of foreign material into the insect’s economy, whereby they adapt
themselves to the absorption of the proper elements from the general
circulation, necessary to give to the silk its characteristic colors. It is
clear that the color of the silk depends upon the food of the larva. Such
being a true statement of the facts of the case, why will not a changed
condition of the same food, evolved in obedience to the action of chemical
or physical forces in the parenchymatous matter of the leaves, have a
similar tendency? If the different capacities of different leaves to produce
diverse effects are due to the chemical activities at work therein, bearing
in mind that the same simple elements enter into the composition of all
leaves, why will not leaves undergoing chemical and physical changes:
have different effects upon the tender beings that appropriate them as.
food, as well as the same food in a stable condition ?
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 91
In caterpillars that exhibit different shades of green, their external
appearances are due to the characteristic colors of thelr blood. If this.
blood undergoes changes, the muscles, tissues and other parts, which are
the out-growths thereof, must evidently adapt their constitution and color
thereto.
To my mind this theory seems perfectly plausible. Whatever cause
may be assigned to account for the phenomena, there is no getting over
the fact that the two are synchronous events.
A DISSERTATION ON NORTHERN BUTTERFLIES.
(Continued from Page £9).
BY WILLIAM COUPER, MONTREAL.
The meeting with Papilio turnus on the Island of Anticosti, astonished’
me, as I did not expect to find this butterfly so far north in the Gulf of
St. Lawrence. Only two specimens were taken during the season, and
old settlers say that it is always rare. Anticosti is evidently its most
northerly limit, as it does not occur on the opposite shore of Labrador.
It is common at Halifax, N. S., and in many localities along the south
side of the St. Lawrence, until we reach the lake and rocky regions on
the heighth of land from which the Assomption river flows north of
Montreal. Plants of the family O/eacee are generally selected by ¢urnus
as food of the larvae. They feed on /raxinus trifoliata and probably
the Swamp Ash of the south. The Anticosti food plant of tvrnus is not
known to me; it may be a species of Fraxinus; whichever it is, the
Island of Anticosti, which stands between latitudes 49° and 50°, is.
evidently the most northern range of that class of plants tending to the
existence of this butterfly.*
——————
* Nore.—Mr. Scudder gives the following food plants of P. turnus: Apovle,
wild-thorn, choke cherry, cultivated cherry, alder, tulip, bass-wood, oak, black ash
and birch. The former eight do not grow on Anticosti, but the latter two may
Mr. Saunders found them feeding on cherry—‘‘ Can. Env., vol, i, p. 74.”
‘92 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
The Island specimens are smaller, and the dark portions of their
bodies blacker than those of the west and south. Although undoubtedly
turnus,they exhibits sufficient change of color to claim attention. Possibly
the larval food is the power whereby this variety is produced. I have not
had an opportunity of comparing specimens of /urnus from widely
separated localities, but it is a fact that those occurring in the latitude of
Anticosti are different from the fusus of the south and more temperate
latitudes of America.
The dark color observable in the Anticosti furnus supports my view
that boreal insects, especially the Diurnals of high latitudes, are blacker
where the dark scales occur than their congeners of the south. The fact
that Papilio glaucus var. turnus * feeds on the Hickory, while ¢zwrnus has
not been found feeding on the leaves of this tree, is, in part, evidence
that although the variety is thus attracted by change of appetite to an
unusual plant, the true form (¢urnus) holds to those food plants which
have been recorded by the early writers on Entomology.
I took a few specimens of Cofias on Anticosti last July, which Mr.
Strecker informs me are p/ilodice.t This is another rare butterfly on the
Island, where its habits differ from those found at Quebec. The Anticosti
philodice is a difficult insect to capture ; its flight is rapid and continuous
during the occasional hours of its appearance, and it is only towards the
end of July, when the weather becomes cold, that it can be easily
approached. When it alights on a flower, instead of being erect on its
feet, it lies sideways, as if to receive the warmth of the sun. Here, then,
we have the most northern faditat of Colias philodice almost on the
dividing line between the Canadian and Arctic Insect Fauna.
* Note.—See Can. ENT., vol, v, p. 9.
+ Nore.—To my subscribers I distributed an equal share of what I supposed
were two species of Colias, taken last year on Anticosti, and one of each was sent
to Mr. Grote, who did not include them in his article on the butterflies of that
island.
+ Nore.—Its habits are similar to Colias edusa of Europe, which has a lively
flight. Mr. Coleman says that ‘‘his pursuer has need of the seven league boots,
** with the hand of Mercury, to insure success in the fair open race, if that can be
““called a race at all, between a heavy biped struggling and perspiring about a
“slippery hill-side, such as edusa loves, and a winged spirit of air, to whom up-hill
**and down-hill seems all one.”
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 93:
I believe that the most expert Entomologist would pronounce the
Anticosti pAz/odice different in habit from those found in the vicinity of
Canadian cities. There appears to be a difference of opinion among
Entomologists in reference to the variations in thisinsect. Mr. Edwards,
of West Virginia, says: ‘I suspect that at least two species are passing
“under the name of Colias philodice. The species is known to vary
‘** widely, but some of the supposed varieties are extreme—almost too
“much to be considered varieties, unless proved to be so by actual
*‘ breeding from the egg.”
The only correct method by which to arrive at a conclusion as to the
species constituting the genus Co/ias, would be the tracing of the imago
(true form or variety) to the plants on which it deposits its eggs. It is
possible that eggs deposited by a single female on two distinct American
plants may produce larvee showing variation from each other and from the
ordinary coloration of larve of the original type, which may have been
described in another latitude, and taken on a third food plant. These
variations are known to occur, and a wide difference is seen between
many species which systematists term representative Ameriean forms of
European types. ‘There is no question that great deviation exists between
the species which are found on the two Continents, and the cause of such
variation is what is now wished to be arrived at. We find certain
butterflies localized or kept within a certain range, because climate
restricts the growth of the bulk of that class of plants on which they
feed. In such a case, one hundred examples of the butterfly will probably
show no more variation than is general between the sexes, and I give
Pieris (Ganoris) borealis as an illustration of this fact. Larvee of the
greater portion of North American Diurnals are said to feed on from two
to ten distinct plants, and I am of opinion that it will yet be proved,when
proper attention is given to Entomology in connection with Chemical
Botany, that many of the perplexing varieties occurring among the true
forms are produced by the food * which sustain the larvae.
* Nore.—W. S. Coleman, in his remarks on the brilliant metallic spots which
adorn the chrysalides of butterflies, says: ‘‘This golden effect is produced by a
‘*brilliant white membrane underlying the transparent yellow outer skin of the
“‘chrysalis (Cynthia cardui), aud it may be imitated, as discovered by Lister many
‘* yearsago, by putting a small piece of black gall ina strong decoction of netties ;
‘*this produces a scum which, when left on cap-paper, will exquisitely gild it, without
**the application of the real metal.”
Late experiments made by a French Entomologist on caterpillars of a Bombyx,
"94 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
The species comprising the genus Graffa of this country, are subject
to very perplexing variations. Mr. Edwards, in vol. v, p. 148, CAN. ENT,,
writes that Mr. Mead of New York, by experiment, identified Grafta
dryas with comma. Two females of Grapta dryas were tied in a muslin
bag, which was attached to a branch of Hop-vine, on the 3rd of July.
‘The result was a large number of eggs laid on the leaves and in the
“bag.” Tne eggs were all hatched on the 5th, and the first ones began
to change on the 21st (he does not state the month, but as the imagines
appeared on the 30th, I suppose the time to be August). ‘Towards
“maturity some of-the larvee were white; the others were black, like the
“larvae represented in Mr. Edward’s plate of comma.”
Here, then, is one experiment with “upwards of sixty” larvae, of
what is said to be the product of dryas, resulting in giving imagines of
true comma. As Mr. E. does not state how many white adult larvae were
‘seen, it appears to me that this experiment, although a good one, does
not prove the leaves of the hop to be free from eggs of another variety,
and it may be possible that a female of comma visited that vine prior to
the bag being placed over the branch. We have no direct evidence that
all were the product of dryas.
Messrs. Edwards, Saunders, Scudder and Mead deserve great credit
for their labors in metamorphic Entomology, but it appears to me that a
link is missing—the admixture of the sexes prior to the deposition of the
eggs, Were the dryas females the selection of comma males?
As illustrating the confusion in which the species of Grapfa stand at
present, two specimens sent to Mr. Edwards were stated by him to be
progne and gracilis, and two similar ones sent to Mr. Strecker were
reported as faunus and comma. aunus is taken on Anticosti, and Iam
therefore inclined to think that the latter is dimorphic with gracés. I
found a larva of a Grafta feeding on wild currant, on Anticosti, a
description of which was sent to Mr. Edwards, of West Virginia, who
says: ‘*I don’t know what to make of the larva of Grapfa you describe.
were as follows: ‘‘It was ascertained that silk worms fed on vine leaves yielded silk
‘‘of a red color; when they had lettuce alone they gave cocoons of an emerald green;
““ nettle leaves produced violet silk, and it was also found that numerous combinations
*“of colors were the result of a varied diet of mixed leaves, fed during the last 20
** days of the larva period. Yellow, red, green and violet seem to be,the colors most
“successfully produced.”
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 95
“*it would not appear to be that of pragze,which feeds on currant, as that
“as olive brown in color, and this color covers nearly all the surface.
“* Comma has a yellow skin in some of its phases, with black marks. At
“other times it is black, with yellow marks. It varies greatly. I do not
“know that it feeds on currant. aunus, Scudder thinks, is dimorphic
“with gracilis. I don’t. The larva of faunus feeds on willow. It may
“*have other food plants, but so far we only know of willow; and it
“looks like the larva of C. album, of Europe; that is fore-half rusty
‘“‘red, hind-half white, so that your description does not fit that.”
Mr. Edwards, in his remarks on larvae raised from the females of
interrogationis, describes them as exhibiting “every distinct type of
“coloration, and that either type of larvae produced either sex or form
“of butterfly indifferently.” G. ivterrogationis has been found feeding
on several plants, one of which is 77a pubescens, and it will surely be
conceded that there is a marked difference between the taste of the
leaves of the hop and linden. If the color of a larva is affected by food
taken into its system, does it not appear reasonable that the imago issuing
from it will be more or less marked? Say, for instance, that Grapta
comma feeds on two distinct plants, and that a male whose larva fed on
the hop, took for its mate a female which fed on elm. In all probability
a versicolor butterfly would be the result, although the form would be that
of comma. Itis on the ground of finding northern species confined to a
single plant, and which presents no varieties, that I conclude that such as
are extremely phytophagic are those which produce the greatest number
of varieties, while their forms are lessened or extended in accordance
with geographical situation. *
There are a few other well marked species inhabiting the north
belonging to Lycaenide and Hesperide, but as the previous remarks apply
equally to them, I shall not extend the matter. My object is to ventilate
* Norr,—Coleman, in his ‘ British Butterflies,’ remarks on the variety
Gonopteryz cleopatra, of Europe, that M. Boisduval has proved that G. rhamni and
the former are identical, and in a foot note adds that ‘‘they are two varieties, but
‘‘ why they fly together he cannot explain; but it is possible there may be a con-
‘* stitutional difference between individual insects, just as we see that of two English-
**men going to a hot climate—one will brown deeply, while the complexion of the
“ other will hardly alter, although exposed to the very same external influence.” In
another portion of Coleman’s book he thinks it possible that Colias edusa var. helice
may be a male between C. edusa and C. hyale,
96 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
the subject, in order that it may be more thoroughly investigated by those:
who have leisure. The theory advanced is, I think, a reasonable one,and
is based upon what I have noticed in my rambles during a number of
years in the woods and fields.
MICRO - LEPIDOPTERA.
BY V. T. CHAMBERS, COVINGTON, KENTUCKY.
(Continued from page 77.)
ERRATA.
Page 73, line 1, for “ costa” read costal vein.
im “3, 10r “ COstalZeread swocoszal.
*“* 23,for “place” read plead.
Page 75, line 7 from the bottom, for “‘ there” read ¢hev.
ce
PHILONOME, geév. 100.
The little insect which I have made the type of this new genus, unites:
in itself the characters of several genera.
Tongue naked, about as long as the maxillary palpi, which nearly
conceal it. The maxillary palpi are about as long as the labial palpi and
in the dead insect are laid upon the coxae; they are rather densely
scaled, the scales being somewhat roughened. ‘The labial palpi ascend
about half way to the vertex ; the first and second joints are short; the
second has a minute tuft at the end beneath, and the third is about as
long as the first and second together, and somewhat roughened with
scales. Face broad, smooth, with appressed scales and much retreating ;
vertex roughened, with a large tuft of erect scales which extends down
between the base of the antennae ; no ocelli; eyes moderate, visible from
beneath, but concealed above by the large eye-cap which clothes the
somewhat swollen basal joint of the antennae. Stalk of the antennae
simple, about two-thirds as long as the primaries.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 97
~~ —r— — re oe pu Se
Primaries lanceolate, almost caudate; the costal vein runs near the
margin, which it reaches at about its middle. The subcostal sends two
branches to the costal margin from near the end of the discal cell, which
is Closed rather acutely by the union of the subcostal and median veins.
The first of these branches is given off at the point where the subcostal
‘bends towards the median, and the second is given off almost from the
-apex of the cell. The median vein is unusually large and distinct, and
from just behind the middle it sends a branch to the dorsal margin, from
the end of the cell it sends a fureate branch also to the dorsal margin ;.
from the apex of the cell a discal branch, which is almost continuous
with the median, passes to apex, becoming trifurcate near the apex, one
-of its branches going to the costal margin near the apex, one to the apex
-and one to the dorsal margin near the apex. One or more tufts of raised
scales.
- Hind wings linear lanceolate ; costa somewhat naked from the base to
.the basal fourth, and from thence excavated to the apex ;_ the costal vein
is close to the costa and enters it about the basal fourth; the subcostal
proceeds to the apex; behind the middle it sends two branches to the
-dorsal margin; the median is furcate behind the middle, close to the
margin, both branches entering the dorsal margin. Cell unclosed.
P. Clemensella. LN. sp.
Palpi, face and eye-caps white ; tuft reddish orange ; antennae pale
reddish orange; thorax white, with a reddish orange narrow stripe just
before the apex, and a spot of the same hue on each shoulder. Primaries
reddish orange, with two white basal streaks, one median, the other
dorsal, the latter continuous with the white of the thorax, and extending
to a small raised tuft of brown scales just before the middle of the dorsal
margin ; from the tuft the dorsal white streak is deflexed obliquely to
-about the middle of the wing, where it intersects at an acute angle the
median basal white streak ; at the apical third of the costa is a rather long
oblique costal white streak, which is produced along the extreme costa
towards but not to the base; apical portion of the wing dusted with dark
brown. Ciliae whitish, with an oblique, rather wide streak of reddish
orange, dusted with brown, resembling the “hook” of many species of
Gracilaria.
Al. ex. scarcely ¥3 inch. Kentucky. Larva unknown.
I have named it in honor of Dr, Clemens, who may be called the
father of this branch of Entomology in this country.
98 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
ARCTIA ARGE, Drury.
BY PROF. S. H. PEABODY, AMHERST, MASS.
A moth taken by an evening lamp, May 25, 1873, on that night and’
the next day laid eggs which hatched June 14. ‘The larvee fed freely on
the leaves of the common narrow-leaved plantain, Plantago /anceolata..
The earlier moults were not observed with care; the last two occurred
June 23 and July 1. |
July 6, the larvee ceased feeding and next day began to spin their
cocoons in the breeding cage. July 26, imagos appeared, copulated and
laid eggs for a second brood. Other imagos appeared at about the same
time from without, showing the species to be double brooded. The cycle:
of transformations occupied 42 days from the hatching, 62 from the-
laying of the egg.
When the larvee ceased feeding they were 134 inches long, ¥ inch in:
diameter, tapering slightly to each end.
Head small, black, marked in front with animpressed inverted 4. Fore
legs black ;_ pro-legs yellow with black fringe.
Body dark brown; a white dorsal stripe, and midway to spiracles a
white lateral stripe, shaded to orange on each segment ;_ spiracles black ;.
an orange spot above each, and a wavy white line beneath. Underneath
dirty gray ; on each segment twelve black tubercles, two on each dark
stripe, clothed with long white hairs.
The moth is quite abundant in this locality.
EDITORIAL SUMMARY.
THE BUTTERFLIES OF NoRTH America, by W. H. Edwards—Second
Series.—We are much pleased to be able to announce that the first part
of the second volume of this admirable work will be issued during the
present month, by Messrs. H. O. Houghton & Co., Riverside Press,
Cambridge, Mass., the succeeding parts to appear quarterly, with five:
plates in each part. The illustrations which adorn the pages of Vol. 1
are admirably truthful and life-like, and we have no doubt but that the
forthcoming volume will in this respect quite equal its predecessor. The
talented artists who were engaged upon the plates of the previous volume,
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 99
Miss Mary Peart and Mrs. Bowen, will execute the plates of this also.
Illustrations of the eggs and larva, as well as the butterfly, in many cases
will be given, which will add greatly to the interest of the work. Price
$2.50 per part. We bespeak for this volume an enlarged circulation.
FRANCIS WALKER, of the British Museum, has lately published a supple-
ment to his Catalogue of Hemiptera ; also the first part of a general list of
Diptera. Copies of these pamphlets may be had from FE. W. Janson, 28
Museum Street, London, W. C., England.
WE HAVE received a copy of a Memorial to the Legislature of Mas-
sachusetts from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, setting
forth the desirability of a new and thorough survey of the state in which
besides the usual geological matter, there should be “full descriptions
and truthful illustrations of the animals and plants, including their natural
history, transformations, and relations to man and his requirements, said
reports to be prepared with special reference to an intelligent use by the
people.” The State could not make a wiser use of its funds. We heartily
wish the memorialists success, feeling sure that in such a publication
Entomology will receive its due share of attention.
A New Enromo.ocicaL Montuiy.—We are pleased to learn that
the Cambridge Entomological Club, organized last autumn, have deter-
mined to issue an organ to be called “Psyche,” a 4-paged monthly, to
begin with. The first number will be issued in a few weeks. We com-
mend the Cambridge Club for their enterprise, and shall gladly welcome
their little sheet, and sincerely hope it may live and grow.
BULLETIN OF THE BUFFALO SociETY OF NATURAL SCIENCES.—We
have received No. 4, which completes the first volume of this valuable
publication. The present part contains eight plates, making eleven in
all which have appeared in the volume of 289 pages. No. 4 contains
the following Entomological papers: ‘On the Butterflies of Anticosti,”
“On Eight Species of Noctuide,” and ‘“ Determination of Brazilian
Sphingidae Collected by Mr. Chas. Linden,” by Aug. R. Grote ; ‘ Notes
on the Species of Pasimachus,” by John L. Le Conte, M. D.; “The Two
Principal Groups of Urbicolae,” ‘‘Note on the Species of Glaucopsyche
from Eastern North America,” by Samuel H. Scudder ; ‘‘ Notes on North
American Lepidoptera,” ‘“ Description of ‘Two New Noctuidae from the
Atlantic District,’ by H. K. Morrison; ‘New Phalaenoid Moths,”
100 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
“* Rectification of Treitschke’s Use of Hubner’s Generic Term ‘Cyma-
tophora,’” by Leon F. Harvey, M. D. Price of this volume complete,
Three Dollars. Part 1 of vol. 2 is now in hand, and will shortly appear ;
it will contain, among other articles, a catalogue of the Noctuidae of North
America, embracing nearly 800 names, by Aug. R. Grote, with one colored
plate. ‘The subscription for the new volume will be Four Dollars. Re-
mittances should be sent to Leon F. Harvey, M. D., Buffalo, N. Y.
CarocaLA Rexicra.—Mr. Robert Bunker, of Rochester, N. Y., has
sent us a very nice photograph of an unusually dark female specimen of
relicta. He says: “It is well known that this species alights usually on
white surfaces ; the specimen from which this photograph was taken was
captured on a surface as dark as itself.”
BOOKS RECEIVED.
Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol. xvi, part 2, June, 1873—Jan., 1874, with two
plates and several wood-cuts. ,
On tne Oviposition of the Yucca Moth, from the American Naturalist, pp. 4, by Prof. C. V. Riley.
Controlling Sex in Butterflies, from the American Naturalist, pp. 9, by Prof. C. V. Riley.
The Grape Phylloxera, from the Popular Science Monthly, pp 16, with seven cuts, by Prof. C. V. Riley.
‘The Grape Phylloxera, False Theories. From the New York Weekly Tribune, by Prof. C. V. Riley.
Lepidoptera, Rhopaloceres and Heteroceres Indigenous and Fxotic Part 9, with one colored plate
containing figures of eleven species of Catucala, by Herman Strecker, Reading, Pa.
Note on the Species of Glaucopsyche from Eastern North America, Svo., pp. 2, by Samuel H. Scudder,
Cambridge, Mass.
The Two Principal Groups of Urbicola (Hesperide, Auct.,) Svo., pp. 2, by Samuel H. Scudder, Cam-
bridge, Mass.
The Pterostichi of the United States, from Proc. Acad Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, July 27, 1873. pp. 19, by
John L. Leconte, M. D.
Synonymical Remarks upon North American Coleoptera, from Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., pp. 16, by
John L, Leconte, M. D.
Notes on the Species of Pasimachus, from Bul. Buffalo Soc, Nat. Sci., pp. 8, by John L. Leconte, M D.
On the Origin of Insects and Remarks on the Antennal Characters in the Butterflies and Moths, from
Proc. Amer, Assoc., pp. 3, by Aug. R. Grote.
The Natural History of a Polymorphic Butterfly, from the American Naturalist, May, 1874, pp. 10, by
Samuel H. Scudder.
Report Dept. Agriculture, Washington, April and May.
Science Gossip, March and April.
Nature to April 16th.
Le Naturaliste Canadien, Mars et Avril.
The Zoologist, March and April.
Newman’s Entomologist, March and April.
Journal of Education, Feb’y.
Prairie Farmer to May 9.
Indiana Farmer to May 2.
Canada Farmer to May 1.
Western Rural to May 9.
Bruce Reporter to May.
Che Canadian Entomologist,
VOL. VI. LONDON, ONT., JUNE, 1874. No. 6
ON SOME OF OUR COMMON INSECTS.
——S
16.—THE GOOSEBERRY SAW-FLY (Nematus ventricosus, Klug.)
BY THE EDITOR.
This prolific pest, known also in the larval state as the Currant Worm,
is now so widely disseminated, and, at this particular season of the year, so
abundant and destructive, that it may well be classed among our com-
monest insects, and is one in which all cultivators of the gooseberry and
currant must take some interest.
The Saw-flies, the parents of this troublesome brood, usually spend the
winter in the chrysalis state, enclosed in a tough, papery-looking, silken
cocoon, sometimes on and sometimes under the surface of the ground,
and occasionally fastened on the stems of the currant or gooseberry
bushes on which they have been feeding, or in some sheltered spot near
by. They make their appearance very early in the season, usually about
the third week in April, but sometimes a week later, depending on the
temperature; and by the time the gooseberry bushes are bursting into
leaf, these enemies have paired, and the females are ready to deposit their
eggs on the new and tender foliage. The gooseberry bushes develope
leaves before the currant bushes, and whether it is from this cause alone
or from a preference for the gooseberry foliage, we know not, but we find
that the gooseberry is the first attacked, and often, if let alone, many
bushes will be stripped quite bare of foliage before the eggs deposited on
the currant are hatched ; on this account the gooseberry bushes require
the first attention.
Both male and female flies are represented in fig. 16, but magnified.
The upper one (a) is the male, 4 the female ; the hair lines below show
¢
102 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
their natural size. The male is nearly as large as the common house-fly,
Fig. 16.
but with a more slender body and
glossier wings. Its head is black,
spotted with dull yellow, with the an-
tennae brownish black ;_ the thorax or
anterior portion of the body is_ black,
with a yellow spot at the base, and in
front of each of the fore wings ; the
abdomen or hinder portion is black
above, yellowish underneath and at the
tip. Its legs are bright yellow; the
wings glossy, with black or brownish
black veins. The female is larger than
=
YE
the male and differs from it chiefly in
e the color of the body, being mostly
| yellow, instead of black. These flies
are active only during the warmer parts of the day; at other times they
are quiet, indeed almost torpid.
The eggs are laid on the surface of the larger veins or ribs on the
underside of the leaves; they are arranged in long and regular rows, as
shown in fig. 17, each female depositing about a hundred or more. We
have counted as many as 118 squeezed from the body of a female just
escaped from the chrysalis, and as the eggs are then very soft and easily
ruptured, it is probable that some a at
of them were broken in count- 3
ing, and thus escaped notice. This
process of egg-laying is continued
throughout May, so that you have
eggs hatching almost daily during
the latter part of the month, on ¢
bushes which are, perhaps, covered &
with worms from half an inch to an «&
inch long. It is probable that the }:
female fly lays her stock of eggs
at one time, and that the subsequent
deposits are made by those who
have escaped later from the pupa
state. The eggs, as found on the leaves, are about one-twentieth of an
inch long, four times as long as broad, rounded at each end, and having a
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 103
whitish glossy surface. As squeezed from the body of the insect they
-are not much more than half this size, which indicates that they must
expand considerably after being laid. The exterior of the egg is thin
and elastic, and contracts and shrivels up as the young larva escapes ; the
usual duration of the egg stage is from a week to ten or twelve days.
The larvae or worms, when first hatched, are about one-twelfth of an
inch long, with a greenish white, semi-transparent body and a large head,
having a dark round spot on each side. At first they eat small holes in
the leaf on which they are placed, as shown at 2 and 3, fig. 17, feeding
in company, from 20 to 40 on a leaf, the soft parts of which they soon
consume, leaving nothing but the frame-work ; as they increase in size
they eat the veins as well down nearly to the foot-stalks, and, travelling
from leaf to leaf, they soon strip the branch on which they have
been located, when they spread to other parts of the bush, which is
sometimes stripped quite bare of foliage by these marauders in a few
days.
Fig. I8 represents the larva nearly full grown. It isthen about three-
fourths of an inch long, with a black head and a bluish green body,
5s lees becoming yellowish on the hinder
segments and on the sides, _ Its
whole upper surface is thickly
covered with small, shining black
tubercles or raised dots, from
each of which arises a single
black hair. Low down on each
side, in a line with the spiracles,
is a row of larger black tubercles
from each of which there arises
several short black hairs; the
terminal segment has a patch of
black above. The under surface
is pale bluish green, growing
yellowish towards the extremities,
with a few faint brownish dots ; feet nearly covered with patches of black.
Prolegs—of which there are seven pairs—pale greenish. After the last
moult, just before entering the chrysalis state, it becomes of a uniform
plain green coulor, tinged with yellow.
Having completed its growth, its chief concern now is in the selection
of a suitable place in which to pass the chrysalis stage of its existence.
104 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Such a spot having been fixed on, the larva begins to contract the length:
of its body and to spin a cocoon over itself, which, when finished, is-
nearly oval, smooth, of a brownish color and papery texture, and within.
this it changes to a small brown chrysalis, from which the fly escapes late:
in June or early in July. Shortly after this eggs are again deposited, from.
which another brood of worms are hatched ; these complete their growth
before summer closes, and in most instances change to chrysalids before:
winter, and thus these tormentors lie dormant until spring comes round:
again.
There may possibly be more than two broods during the season ; it 1s.
certain that there are not many weeks during the whole of summer when
you cannot find the larvae on the bushes in some stage of their growth.
It is well known that the flies composing the separate broods do not all
appear at one time ; some are weeks later than others, and their progeny
are later in proportion; but whether this tardiness in maturing on the
part of some specimens is sufficient to account for the almost continual
presence of the larvee from May to September, we are unable at present
to decide.
The Saw-fly has natural enemies, but, unfortunately, they do not as
yet appear anywhere in sufficient numbers to materially lessen its in-
crease. One small parasitic insect attacks the egg,and there are two other
Fig. 19. species which prey upon the larva. Besides these we
have another friend in a member of the Heteroptera
or true bug family, see fig. 19. This insect is about
the size of acommon Lady-bird, with the head, thorax
and legs black, and the abdomen red, with an
elongated black spot in the centre, crossed by a
whitish line. On approaching one of the worms they
thrust into it their sharp proboscis and quietly suck
its juices until it shrivels up and dies. In the figure
this insect is magnified ; the outline below shows its
natural size.
It is fortunate that we have a remedy which is sure and speedy, and
while it brings sudden death to the worm, does not injure either the
bushes or fruit. We refer to powdered Hellebore, which is best used by
mixing two tablespoonfuls of the powder in two or three gallons of water,
and showering it on the bushes with a watering pot.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 105
ON TWO NEW SPECIES OF NOCTUID~.
BY HB: KK MORRISON, OLD CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
Hydrecta semiaperta. Nov. sp.
Antennae serrate. Collar arched, ochreous at its base, brown above.
Behind the collar the usual longitudinal sharp-edged thoracic crest. Ab-
‘domen with a thick, short tuft on its first segment. 2 with an extended
Ovipositor. Anterior wings above brown, with ferruginous shades. All
‘the transverse lines dark brown, regular and distinct. Half line present.
Interior line undulate above the median nervure ;_ at the latter point it is
‘bent inwardly, and advances in a nearly straight line to the inner margin.
Median shade very distinct, broad, not clearly defined along its edges,
-strongly angulated on the median nervure, and then nearly touching the
‘reniform spot. Exterior and subterminal lines obliterated on the costa,
‘below distinct, sub-parallel, broadly undulating, the former dentate between
the median branches.
Ferruginous stains on the median and subterminal spaces, particularly :
‘just before the subterminal line and between and beyond the ordinary
spots. Terminal space in fresh specimens showing a purple reflection.
Orbicular spot small, ferruginous, ringed with brown. Reniform spot long
and narrow, pure white, crossed by the black nervules, its upper half
frequently more or less overspread with ferruginous shades. Nervules
black, with irregularly occurring white atoms. Fringes long, edged with
a basal and exterior black line.
Posterior wings dark fuscous, lighter at the base ; a black line at the
‘base of the brown fringe.
Beneath,the most conspicuous feature is the broad, black, wan exterior
line, which extends over both wings. Discal dots present. On the
anterior wing, before the exterior line, the wings are blackish. The costa
-subterminal and terminal spaces of the anterior, and the whole of the
posterior wings violaceous brown, sprinkled with numerous black atoms.
Expanse, 34 to 37 m.m. Length of body, 16 m. m. Sad. Mass.,
New York. Not uncommon. Coll. of H. K. Morrison.
In color this species most nearly approaches sera, G. & R.; in the
form of the spots, rea, Guen.
106 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
The white reniform spot is not a sexual character, as in séctitans, Linn.,.
but common to both sexes.
The regular, distinct, median lines, particularly the broad angulated’
median shade, the white reniform, and the continuous exterior line:
beneath, afford a ready clue to its determination.
Fladena congermana. Nov. sp.
Palpi, vertex, the upper portion of the collar, and the tegulae ferru-
ginous brown. ‘The basal portion of the collar, a broad, dorsal, thoracic
band, and the abdominal tufts dull ochreous. Anterior wings uniform
dull red, with the nervules brown. The transverse lines, with the
exception of the subterminal, almost entirely obliterated, represented by
white dots on the costa and nervules, but in some cases the ground color
is slightly lighter along the ordinary course of the lines. Subterminal line
more distinct, showing the usual 2 -shaped marking between the median
nervules, set off and followed by a lighter line. Terminal space lighter
than the rest of the wing, particularly at the apex and internal angle,
where are formed irregular ochreous spots. Orbicular spot reduced to a
pale dot, encircled with brown. Reniform as in the common sfufator
Grote (Bul. Buf. Soc. Nat. Sct.,vol.t, p. 190), kidney-shaped, with an internal
brown annulus following the shape of the spot. Posterior wings white at
the base, with a broad, diffused light fuscous terminal band. Beneath
the wings are yellowish white, with reddish atoms terminally and traces of
the exterior line. Expanse, 35 to 38 m.m. Length of body, 18 m. m.
A rare species. Hab. New York, and one specimen taken at Beverly,
Mass., June 24, 1867, by Mr. Edward Burgess, who has generously given
me this and many other interesting species of Noctuidae.
A very detailed description of this species is not necessary ; it is
another member of the same little closely related group of Hadena, of
which duditans, Walk., and sputator, Grote, are the only species. It is
the smallest of the group (expanding 35 to 38 m.m., while spufator
expands 42 to 46 m. m., and dubitans 48 to 50 m. m.,) but it resembles
nearest in color duditans, the largest.
‘Its best character is the orbicular spot, reduced merely to a whitish
dot, surrounded with a brown ring. In the other species the orbicular,.
although obscured by the ground color, is of ‘the usual size. It can be
easily distinguished by the dull red ground color of the anterior wings, the
almost white posterior wings, the dorsal thoracic band, and the white
conspicuous reniform.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 107
THE PRESERVATION OF CATERPILLARS BY INFLATION.*
BY SAMUEL H. SCUDDER.
Many persons are deterred from collecting caterpillars by the difficulty
and expense of preserving them in the ordinary way. The easy and
inexpensive method of blowing up and mounting the pellicle is so little
known in this country, that at the last meeting of the American Associa-
tion, only one entomologist besides myself had ever seen the operation ;
since then others have tried it, and been delighted with its simplicity. In
the hope of inducing all our entomologists to experiment for themselves,
the following explanation cf the process has been prepared.
It should be premised that caterpillars may be prepared in this way,so
as to retain their colors far better than by any other method, and often to
to be fit subjects at any subsequent time for the artist’s pencil; the most
delicate processes may be preserved uninjured, and the examination of
hairy or spiny appendages made even more readily than during life.
Specimens taken from spirits, unless absolutely naked, are always difficult
to examine from the matting of the hairs; and the internal organs can
seldom be studied, even in the rudest manner, unless the greatest care
has been bestowed upon their preservation ; in fact, no specimen can be
fitted by any process for the study of both internal and external organiza-
tions, and for the latter, no method of preparation compares with that of
inflation.
The instruments necessary for the operation, besides the tools in the
hands of every entomologist, are a small tin oven, a spirit lamp, a pair of
finely pointed scissors, a bit of rag, a little fine wire and a straw.
The oven is simply an oblong tin box, about 2% inches high, 2%
inches wide, and five inches long ; the cover is of glass, and one end of
the box is perforated by a circular hole 114 inches in diameter. It would
be well to have this end of glass, and the opposite end should be mov-
able ; the oven rests upon an open standard of twisted wire or riveted tin
plates, as in the woodcut (fig. 20.) No soldering should be used upon
the oven or standard, as it would soon be melted. Mr. Riley suggests
that there would be an advantage in having the front end of the standard
higher than the back, as he has shown inthe sketch. He also proposes
————
*From advance sheets of the American Naturalist.
108 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
a movable wire loop, indicated in the woodcut by the dotted line,* but
this would seem superfluous.
The wire should be very fine and annealed; the best is that wound
with green thread and used for artificial flowers. It should not be more
; Fig. 20.
than half a millimetre in diameter; the cut represents it magnified nine-
teen diameters (fig. 21).
The straw. Mr. Goossens, of Paris, my courteous instructor in this
art, who possesses a collection of nearly a thousand species of inflated
caterpillars, uses nothing but ordinary wheat straw, choosing stout, dry
pieces of various sizes, the cross section of which is perfectly circular ;
Aes with these he inflates the smallest
micros and the largest sphingidae.—
Various modifications have been sug-
gested ; a glass tube drawn to a fine
Y////i point,and provided with a pair of spring
clips to attach to the caterpillar, is a favorite form ; the Germans use this
largely, and sometimes attach the caterpillar by threads passed around
the anal prolegs. Dr. LeConte informs me that Dr. Gemminger uses a
finely pointed tube with an elastic bulb attached, like a rubber syringe.
Mr. Riley suggests (as his drawing represents) still another mode, which
is to pierce a piece of soft wood along the grain with a fine heated wire
* The engraver should have made this loop hang from the edges of the oven.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 109.
and then sharpen to a point the tube thus formed, to be inserted in the
caterpillar ; a tube is also inserted in the other end (see fig. 21.) For
myself I prefer the simple straw.
The operation. Kill the subject by a drop of ether or by a plunge in
spirits ; if it be a hairy caterpillar, it should remain at least half an hour
in alcohol, and then rest on bibulous paper for forty-eight hours; other-
wise the hairs drop off in the subsequent operation. Then placing the
caterpillar in the left hand, so as to expose its hinder extremity beyond
the gently closed thumb and first two fingers, enlarge the vent slightly at
the lower edge by a vertical cut with the scissors ; next lay the larva
either upon bibulous paper on the table, or upon soft cotton cloth held in
the left hand, and press the extremity of the body with one finger, always
with the interposition of cloth or paper, so as to force out any of the
contents of the rectum ; this process is continued from points successively
farther back, a slight additional portion of the contents of the body
being gently pressed out with each new movement. Throughout all this
process great care should be taken lest the skin should be abraded by too
violent pressure, and lest any of the contents of the body soil its exterior
or become entangled in the hairs or spines; to avoid the latter, the
caterpillar should be frequently removed to a clean part of the cloth or
paper. When a portion of the intestinal tube itself becomes extruded, it
should be seized with a pair of strong forceps, and, the head remaining in
the secure hold of the left hand, the tube should be forcibly but steadily
torn from its attachments; with this most of the contents of the body
will be withdrawn, and a delicate pressure passing from the head toward
the tail will reduce the subject to a mere pellicle.
The alcohol lamp is now lighted and placed in position beneath the
oven; a straw is selected, of the proper size to enter the enlarged vent,
and the tip, after being cut diagonally with sharp scissors, is moistened a
little in the mouth (to prevent too great adhesion of the skin to the
straw) and carefully introduced into the opening of the caterpillar; the
process may be aided by blowing gently through the straw. When the
skin is slipped upon all sides of the straw to the distance of nearly a
quarter of an inch, without any folding of the skin and so that both the
anal prolegs protrude, a delicate pin (Edelston and Williams, No. 19, is
best) is passed through the anal plate and the straw.
By this time the oven will be sufficiently heated to commence the
drying process, which consists simply in keeping the caterpillar in the
110 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
— — erred
oven, extended horizontally upon the straw by blowing gently and steadily
through the straw, as one uses a blow-pipe. Too forcible inflation will
make the caterpillar unsightly by distending unnaturally any spot that may
have been weakened or bruised in the previous operation ; the caterpillar
should be kept slowly but constantly turning, and no harm will result from
withdrawing the creature from the oven and allowing it to collapse, to gain
breath or rest ; only this relaxation should be very brief. The caterpillar:
should be first introduced into the oven while inflated by the breath, and
so placed that the hinder extremity shall be in the hottest part, directly
above the flame, for it is essential that the animal should dry from behind
forward ; yet not altogether, for as soon as the hinder part has begun to:
stiffen (which can readily be detected by withholding the breath for a
second) the portion next in front should receive partial attention, and the
caterpillar moved backward and forward, round and round over the flame.
During this process any tendency of the caterpillar to assume unnatural
positions may be corrected—at least in part—by withdrawing it from the
oven and manipulating it; during inflation, the parts about the head
should be the last to dry and should be kept over the flame until a rather’
forcible touch will not cause it to bend.
To secure the best results, it is essential that the oven should not be
too hot; the flame should not be more than an inch high, and its tip
should be one or two inches from the bottom of the oven.
When the skin of the caterpillar will yield at no point, it is ready for
mounting. The pin is removed from the straw and the caterpillar skin,
which often adheres to the straw, must be gently removed with some
delicate, blunt instrument, or with the finger nail.
A piece of wire a little more than twice the length of the caterpillar
is next cut, and, by means of forceps, bent as in fig. 21, the tips a little
incurved ; a little shellac* is placed at the distal extremity of the loop, the
wire is held by the forceps just beyond this point, so as to prevent the
free ends of the wire from spreading, and they are introduced into the
empty body of the caterpillar as far as the forceps will allow ; holding the
loop and gently opening the forceps, the caterpillar is now pushed over
the wire with extreme care, until the hinder extremity has passed half-way
over the loop, and the shellac has smeared the interior sufficiently to hold
* To prepare this, the sheets of dark shellac should be preferred to the light, and.
dissolved in forty per cent. alcohol.
>
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 111
the caterpillar in place when dry: the extremities of the parted wires
should reach nearly to the head. Nothing remains but to curve the
doubled end of the wire tightly around a pin with a pair of strong forceps
and to place the specimen properly labelled, in a place where it can dry
thoroughly for two or three days before removal to the cabinet.
For more careful preservation and readier handling, Mr. Goossens:
employs a different method, placing each specimen in a glass tube, like
the test tube of the chemist. The wire is first bent in the middle and the
bent end inserted in a hole bored in the smaller end of a cork of suitable
size, so as nearly to pass through it; the loops are then formed as above ;.
both ends of the cork are varnished, and a label pasted around the
portion of the cork which enters the tube, thus guarding both specimen
and label from dust, and the latter from loss or misplacement. After two
or three days the cork with the caterpillar attached is placed in its cor-
responding tube, and the tube may be freely handled.
Modifications of this system will occur to every one. Dr. Gemminger
uses a syringe for the extraction of the contents as well as for the inflation
of the emptied skin. Foran oven, the Vienna entomologists employ an
ordinary gas-chimney, open at both ends and inserted in a sand bath,
which prevents, perhaps, the danger of too great heat.
TRANSLATION OF THE SYNOPSIS OF THE GENERA OF
EUROPEAN MYCETOPHILID.
BY FRANCIS WALKER, LONDON, ENGLAND.
The Diptera, generally considered, are less attractive than other orders:
of insects, and appear to be more insignificant, but are the most useful on
account of their excessive abundance and of their purification of matter
and thereby of the atmosphere. In like manner, the Diptera may be divided
into more or less numerous and beneficial tribes, and the work assigned
to the former is the removal of decaying substances. The fungus race is
in subjection to the Mycetophilidz, and are the means for the develope-
ment of the perfect state of the latter, according to the law whereby
degradation precedes the attainment of a higher state, and this law is
exemplified in minerals, plants and animals. In like manner the
*
719 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST,
Mycetophilidz among themselves exhibit much difference in utility and
beauty, the former quality being exemplified by Mycetophila with its
skipping and shuffling movements; the latter by the graceful form of
Macrocera when it rests on a shady paling. The four following sub-
families of Mycetophilidz are distinguished from the others by each of
them including more than one genus:
Sub-family MycEToBin&.
A—Brachial vein and cubital vein forming a sessile fork... 1 MYCETOBIA
B—Brachial vein and cubital vein forming a petiolated fork.
a—Base of this fork nearer to the base of the wing than is
the base of, the 2nd. hind areolet.... .... 2.0... s,sis'-<.5<. 2) LOM
b—Base of this fork more distant from the base ef the wing
than is the base of the 2nd hind areolet........ 3 PLESIASTINA
Sub-family CERATOPLINA. ”
A—Mouth elongated like a beak 2”... "0.05.2 oe ones ed ASI ee
B—Mouth not elongated like a beak.
a—Antenne dilated ; palpi not bent together............ 2 CEROPLATUS
b—Antenne not dilated ; palpi bent together...............3 PLATYURA
Sub-family SCIOPHILINA.
A—Costal vein extending to the tip of the wing............ 1 SCIOPHILA
B—Costal vein not extending to the tip of the wing.
a—Base of the 4th hind areolet much nearer to the base of
the wing than is the base of the 2nd hind areolet.....2 EMPHERIA
b—Base of the 4th hind areolet a little nearer to the base of
the wing than is the base of the 2nd hind areolet.
*—Second hind areolet with a very long petiole............ 3 POLYLIPTA
* *—Second hind areolet with a moderately long petiole......5 EMPALIA
<—Base of the 4th hind areolet in a transverse line with the
base of the 2nd, or very near the base of the
WEG res cape etiam: © «, «armenian es ..e..6 TETRAGONEURA
d—Base of the 4th hind areolet much more distant from the
base of the wing than is the base of the 2nd hind
ATEGIEU cere hy cis dia SETS: + «nde onyeie aie lin lel eee. 4 LASIOSOMA
Sub-family MycreroPHILIN&.
A—Three ocelli on the front.
a—Abdomen with seven segments.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 113
*—Proboscis not elongated.
+—Costal vein extending beyond the tip of the cubitus.
t—Basal part of the cubital vein and middle transverse vein
equally long.
§—Auxiliary vein not extending to the costal vein........ 1 SYNTEMMA
§§—Auxiliary vein extending to the costal vein .......... 3 ANACTINIA
tt—Basal part of the cubital vein longer than the middle
transverse vein.
§—Base of the 4th hind areolet under the base of the cubital
Mateos 8 SRS a, «o's | in alah een 2 LEPTOMORPHUS:
§§—Base of the 4th hind areolet nearer to the base of the
wing than is the base of the 2nd hind areolet........4 BOLETINA
§§§—Base of the 4th hind areolet more distant from the base
of the wing than is the base of the 2nd hind areolet..6 PHTHIRIA
tt—Costal vein not extending beyond the tip of the
See Sniieee kee ae 7 GLAPHYROPTERA
fr tonescis cloncated:...\jJ.ceeee + ««-. s-< sa ed) slater Ween 5 GNORISTE.
b—Abdomen with six segments.
*—Hind vein forked.
i Pong done: 2... kk. et... SRN eee ISH © 8 LEJA
Pe POL SHORE. |. is, « .:s De Eh REE "s eae Sd ig a ae 9g COELOSIA
**__Hind vein not forked.
t—Miaddle discoidal vein forked dee... 0.5 « .eiece. oialnse wae oldls 10 AENEMIA
*1—Middle discoidal vein. not, fo@mmed... ..... jsciivcaee jet ene 11 AZANA
B—tThree ocelli: one on the inner border of each eye; the
third in the middle of the fore front.
a—Costal vein extending much beyond the tip of the cubital
vein. |
c—Two ocelli; one on the inner border of each eye.
a—Base of the 4th hind areolet nearly in a transverse line
with that of the second hind areolet...........25 MYCETOPHILA
b—RBase of the 4th hind areolet much more distant from the
base of the wing than is the base of the 2nd hind
OU Ea ak be ena RG OA EE w= « «+ 0.5: 9 ang haa 26 DyYNATOSOMA
c—Base of the 4th hind areolet much nearer to the base of
the wing than is the base of the 2nd hind areolet.....27 CoRDYLA
+—Petiole of the second hind areolet long................20 EXECHIA
¢t—Petiole of the 2nd hind areolet short.............. 24 MyYcoTHERA
**%**__No ath hind areolet.
114 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
+—Fore cubital areolet moderately broad..... ESS be vi ag ahaa, 21 ZYGOMYIA
+t—Fore cubital areolet yery nargow JPost te ee ee 22 SCEPTONIA
+—Hind vein not forked.
$2 Bind vein forked... 14/00. . tees v ates co einen eens ae 23 EPICYPTA
*__Base of the 4th hind areolet in a transverse line with that
of the 2nd hind areolet.. ae AE .12 DACOSIA
**__Base of the 4th hind ieoteat more dpe ihie fic ena base
of the wing than is the base of the 2nd hind areolet.18 ANATELLA
b—Costal vein extending a little beyond the cubital vein.....19 PHRONIA
c—Costal vein not extending beyond the tip of the cubital.
Base of the 4th hind areolet a little nearer to the base
of the wing than is the base of the 2nd hind
areolet.
+-—Petiole of the 2nd hind areolet very short..............14 RYMOSIA
++t—Petiole of the 2nd hind areolet moderately long........15 ALLODIA
**__Base of the 4th hind areolet much nearer to the base of
the wing than is the base of the 2nd hind areolet.
+—Costal vein ending much before the tip of the wing. .13 BRACHYPEZA
T?—Costal vein ending a little before the )tip'’of’ the
WO os a ates dues mete Ee ees + Stee ele SiGe Glen ears 16 BRACHYCAMPTA
***___Base of the 4th hind areolet and that of the 2nd about
equally distant from the base of the wing..........17 TRICHONIA
****__Base of the 4th hind areolet much more distant from
the base of the wing than is the base of the 2nd.
NOTES ON COLLECTING LEPIDOPTERA
BY G. M. DODGE, GLENCOE, DODGE CO., NEBRASKA.
In collecting Catocalas at Ohio, Ill., I have found them, during July,
invariably abundant upon Black Locust (Robinia pseudacacia), which, at
‘ that time, exudes considerable sap from the holes made by borers. Last
season I pinned rags, dipped in molasses, to three or four of these trees,
and from the middle to the last of July obtained from them over thirty
Catocalas of ten species. On suitable evenings I would visit the trees
with a lantern and cyanide bottle ; several times between sunset and ten
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, LLb
o'clock, p. m., earlier or later, I had little success. I seldom used a net,
preferring that a specimen should escape rather than capture it in a
damaged condition.
In August and September decayed apples or pomace from the cider
mill, spread upon trunks of trees, will attract the late species of Catocala
such as cara, concumbens, &c., and a host of the lesser Noctuidae.
Limenitis misippus and ursuda are also very fond of the juice of apples.
I have often seen the former species feeding upon apples that were being
sun dried, and both may be observed around apple trees upon which the
fruit is over-ripe. Upon more than one occasion, by wetting my fingers
with apple juice, and holding them near an wrsu/a, as it sat upon a leaf
above me, I have induced it to leave its perch and alight on my hand,
where it would remain until the last drop was sucked up. Where the
rarer species of this genus are found, it would seem that apple might be
successfully used as a bait.
The objection to cyanide offered by Mr. Norman, in No. 1, Vol. vi,
does not seem to me a sufficient reason for discarding it. Although
cyanide certainly ‘renders the moths rigid,” the difficulty can be over-
come. My Catocalas, taken in the evening, remained in the bottle all
night, and next morning were transferred to a close box. At noon they
were soft enough to spread without difficulty.
NEW CANADIAN NOCTUZ.
BY AUG. R. GROTE,
Curator of Articulata, Buffalo Soc. of Natural Sciences.
Perigrapha Normani, Grote.
g 2. The eyes are hairy, the tibia unarmed. ‘The collar is cut out
in front and there is a slight tuft in front, on the dorsum of the thorax,
while the sides of the patagia are determinate. Dark leather brown ;
thorax concolorous, with the inner edge of the patagia with a more or less
obvious bordering of dark scales. Forewings shining leather brown,
deepening in tint over costal region, somewhat darker mottled. Lines
distinct, continuous, geminate, with lilac-grey centers distinctly con-
116 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
trasting. Basal half line bent on median vein, continued to internal’
nervure. ‘T. a. line nearly even, slightly outwardly arcuate, very slightly
notched on costal and median veins. Orbicular very indistinct; it
appears large, spherical, outlined by a ringed shade of a lighter brown
than the ground color. Reniform large and wide, with a distinct darker
inner annulus, and with an enclosed blackish stain on the median vein
inferiorly. TT. p. line like the first two transverse lines, exserted round
the reniform, nearly even. There are three grey ante-apical costal dots,
while the apices are distinctly washed with a grey shade, which obtains
beyond the subterminal line over costal region on the terminal space.
Terminal line very vaguely indicated. Hind wings whitish, with a vague
fuscous terminal shade and the veins stained with blackish, darker in the
female, fringes whitish. Beneath pale, with a common line appearing by
blackish nervular dots and streaklets ; a discal point on secondaries, which
have whitish fringes, while beneath the fringes of the tore wings are brown
(as above) and contrast. xfanse, 32 m.m. St. Catharines, George
Norman, Esq.
Matuta. WN. g.
Habitus of Zaeniocampa and Perigrapha,; the thoracic and caputal
squamation is woolly. The eyes are, however, naked and lashed, not
hairy, as in allied genera. The hind and middle tibiae are spinose, and
the form is not flattened, as in Glaea ( Cerastis, Led.) The f¢ antennae
are simple, not pectinate, as in Pachnobia. The fore wings are broad,
entire and widen outwardly, with full and rounded external margin. In
color the species resembles Ceramuca ficta; the lines are obsolete, except
the subterminal, which, with the ordinary spots, is grey. The thorax has
the collar distinctly lobed, as in Perigrapha, and the sides are well defined ,
there seems to beno dorsal tuft, while the wings are broader than in that
genus. ‘The habit is that of Zaeniocampa and Lithophane; the perfect
insect has been taken by Mr. Geo. Norman, in May.
Matuta Catherina, Grote.
f. Dark and deep red brown; the fore wings are brighter colored
outside of the t. p. line, and at base below the median vein. The median
transverse lines are hardly to be made out against the blackish red brown
color of the wing ; thet. p. line is seen to be single and regularly inter-
spaceally scalloped and accented on the nervules. The stigmata contrast
by their grey color; the orbicular well sized, spherical; the reniform
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Va
proportionate and enclosing a blackish inferior stain as in allied genera.
The subterminal line is quite distinct, belng indicated by a line of
powdery greyish scales, like the stigmata. There is an extremely fine
grey, wavy terminal line d¢fore the margin, formed by the outer edging of
the deeper tinted marginal line which appears as interspaceal points.
Fringes light brown, cut by a fine darker hair line (preceded by a pale
line) without the middle. Hind wings pale, much soiled with fuscous
and with the pale fringes ruddy tinted. Beneath fuscous, with a rufous
tinge, both wings rather dark, with discal marks and a broad, vague,
common shade line. Thorax like fore wings ; collar above with indistinct
pale edging ; palpal tips pale, as is the front, else the head is rufous. Ax-
panse, 32m.m. St. Catharines.
Besides the foregoing, Mr. Geo. Norman has secured specimens, in
beautiful condition, of the following Noctuz, on Catkins, in May:
Lithophane vulgaris, G. & R. (socia of my List); Lzth. disposita,
Morr.; Lith. Bethunet, G. & R.; Lith. ferrealis, Grote (allied to the
European Z. semé-brunnea, Haw); Lith. laticinerea, Grote.; Morrisonia
vomerina, Grote; <Actinotia ramosula (Guen.,) and TZaeniocampa ala
Guen. These species are mostly additicns to the Canadian lists. It is
improbable that Zuentocampa instabilis occurs in N. Am.; and 7. alia has
probably been mistaken for it.
The following species of European Noctuz are credited to North
America with apparent certainty :
Agrotis augur (Fabr.)
<< 6baja (Wa .)
“ enigrum (Linn.)
“ plecta (Linn.)
¢ fennica (Tausch.)
“< confiua (Treits.)
“< saucia, Hubn.
“< segetum (8. V.)
<< suffusa (S. V.)
Mamestra grandis (Boisd.)
“ — brassice (Linn.)
Hladena arctica, Boisd.
“« rurea (Fabr.)
Dipterygia pinastri (Linn.)
Euplexia lucipara (Linn.)
118 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Heliophila pallens (Linn.)
Pyrophila tragopoginis (Linn.)
Xanthia gilvago (W. V.)
Scoliopteryx libatrix (Linn.)
Plusia gamma (Linn.)
$v, e2ubDn,
Anarta cordigera (Thunb.)
“« — melanopa (Thunb.)
Fleliothis armigera, Hubn.
Euclidia cuspidea (Hubn.)
Besides the foregoing, other species are occasionally attributed to
North America, such as //yppa rectilinea, for which H. xylinotides is mis-
taken ; Agrotis nigricans, for which Agr. tessellata is mistaken, etc. With
the exception of the boreal species of Azarta, the foregoing list embraces
all the European species I feel as yet at all sure are properly credited to
North America.
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MONTREAL BRANCH.
The first annual meeting of the Montreal Branch of the Entomological
Society of Ontario was held on May 6th, 1874, when the following officers
were elected for the ensuing year :
W. Couper, President; G. J. Bowles, Vice-President ; F. B. Caulfield,
Secretary-Treasurer ; G. B. Pearson, Curator ; Council—W. Hibbins, sen.,
C. W. Pearson, P. Knetzing.
The reports of the Council and Secretary-Treasurer were read, and on
motion adopted. The Branch, although young, is in a prosperous
condition, the expenses of the past year having been met, leaving a small
balance on hand, and the list of members is gradually increasing. Owing
to the lateness of the season but little field work has been done, but some
rare captures have been made already. The Branch meets as usual at the
residence of the President, No. 67, Bonaventure Street, Montreal, P. Q.
All business communications to be addressed to the Secretary-Treasurer,
F. B. Caulfield, 254, St. Martin Street, Montreal, P. Q.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 119
CORRESPONDENCE.
A THIRSTY SPIDER.
DEAR SIR,—
On the sixth of April my attention was drawn to a small black spider
running on the inside of my window-sill. In the course of its travels it
came to a drop of water that had trickled from the window pane, when it
stopped and commenced drinking.
Wishing to see what it would do, I touched it with my finger, when it
‘set off at a great rate ; passing near another drop, it ran to it and again
commenced drinking, this time turning out of its path in its eagerness to
reach the water.
I have sometimes seen Lepidopterous larve drinking, but had never
observed a spider doing so before.
F. B. CAULFIELD, Montreal, P. Q.
DYSAUXES MEDIASTINA.
DEAR SIR,—
Dysauxes mediastina, Hubner, Zutrage, figs. 505, 506, must be erased
from the list of American Lepidoptera, the locality assigned to it by
Hubner being erroneous. ‘The figures quoted above are excellent
representations of an Australian insect which I have received from New
South Wales. This is not the only erroneous locality which has crept
into Hubner’s writings, as those who have studied the volumes will have
discovered. Yours truly,
R. H. STRETCH, San Francisco.
PLATYSAMIA COLUMBIA, SS. Z. Smith,
DEAR SIR,—
In March last I found a cocoon on a maple tree, in the east end of
this city, which bore a very close resemblance to P. cecropfia, only it was
not much more than half the size. I compared it with Mr. Bowles’ de-
scription of co/uwmbia, and as it differed in some respects, I supposed it to
be cecropia. All doubts were, however, removed by the appearance of the
imago on the 13th May, which proved to be a fine male specimen of
columbia. I believe this is the first that has been taken in Montreal.
. C. W. Pearson, Montreal, P. Q.
120 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
EDITORIAL SUMMARY.
We have received from our esteemed friend, J. A. Lintner, of Albany,
N. Y., No. 3 of his Entomological Contributions, from the 26th Annual
Report of the New York State Museum of Natural History, 8vo., 76 pp.,.
with many cuts. These yearly contributions are valuable additions to our
Entomological literature, giving us in terse language the facts and
observations recorded by one of our most accurate and pains-taking
fellow laborers. The present No. is divided into 12 chapters, in each of
which much will be found to interest the practical Entomologist. The
first is on the larva of Audryas unio and allied forms. Then follow—
“Transformations of some Bombycidae,” “ Descriptions of Larvae of
some Bombycidae and Noctuidae,” ‘‘ Notes on New York Bombycidae
and Noctuidae,” ‘Descriptions of New Species of Cucullia,” &c., &c.
We trust Mr. Lintner will receive every encouragement from the directors.
of the New York State Museum in the prosecution of his valued labors.
The promised list of the Noctuidae of North America, by Aug. R..
Grote, has come to hand. It is a goodly octavo pamphlet of 77 pages,
with one colored plate illustrating eleven new species. The first 58 pages.
are occupied with the catalegue proper, which is conveniently indexed and
gives evidence throughout of great care and labor in its compilation ; the
remaining pages are filled with descriptions of some 35 species, many of
which are new. As stated 1n our last, this list will appear in the forth-
coming number of the Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences.
For the convenience of Entomologists, separate copies have been struck
off, which may be had by remitting $1.50 to the Secretary, L. F. Harvey,
M. D.
Psyche.—The first number of this little Entomological monthly has.
appeared. It is nicely printed on good paper, and we doubt not, from
the array of names of noted Entomoilogists composing the Cambridge
Entomological Club, of which this is to be the organ, that it will be well
sustained.
The Butterflies af North Ameria, by W. H. Edwards.—Part 1 of the
second series is just at hand, with five beautifully colored plates, in which
the drawing and coloring are both elegant and faithful. We know of no
illustrations so charming and correct as these are. If all the succeeding
parts of the forthcoming volume equal in design and execution that which
we are now noticing, vol. 2 will be a fitting sequel to vol. 1. Figures of
the larva and egg in several instances accompany those of the perfect
insect.
Che Canadian Entomolonist.
VOL. VI. LONDON, ONT., JULY, 1874. No. 7
NOTES -ON THE LARVA? OF ARGYNNIS CYBELE,
APHRODITE AND DIANA.
BY W. H. EDWARDS, COALBURGH, W. VA.
I am now able to give the results of my attempts at raising the cater-
pillars of the three Argynnides, Cybele, Aphrodite and Diana, from the
egg, this past season. In August and early in September, 1873, females.
of cybele were easily obtained, and a few of aphrodite, which is a rare
species here, and these were shut up in kegs, within which were placed
pots of growing violets. The eggs were laid abundantly on the leaves
and stems, and on the cloths which covered the kegs. There were soon
several hundreds of cydele eggs, and many of aphrodite. About the same
time, Mr. T. L. Mead, who was at Coalburgh, made an excursion to a.
region about fifty miles east of us, where aaa had been previously found
by him in some numbers, and brought back with him about sixty females,
which were placed in kegs and boxes, also with violets either in pots or
planted in earth in the boxes. Hundreds of eggs were so obtained of
this species. The three species hatched in from seven to twelve days, and
so far as was possible, the larvae at large were transferred to plants, but
of course many were lost. In a few instances some of them were
observed to feed on the leaves, but almost all began their hybernation at
ence after hatching, and fixed themselves on the under sides of the
leaves, and especially in the grooves of the leaf-stems, where some of
them were to be seen, extending quite down to the base of the stem. The
three species were so nearly alike at this stage that cyde/e and aphrodite
could not be distinguished apart by any glass I had, and dana differed
almost imperceptibly from the others.
They were each about one-twentieth of an inch long, cylindrical, with
brown heads ; the body greenish brown, with rows of tuberculated darker
colored spots, from each of which emanated a black hair.
122 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
As the weather became cool the plants gradually lost their leaves by
drying up; mould began to attack the decaying leaves, and I was
compelled to transfer the caterpillars to fresh plants, which at this season
I had much trouble in providing. In fact I had to raise a number of
plants from off-shoots in the house, to be ready for any emergency. The
transfer was effected by using a pin bent at the point. The larvae would
curl up when touched, and were easily hooked and so moved. When
placed on the new plants they would soon straighten out, and change
position sufficiently to make themselves comfortable. But as the process
had to be repeated several times as the winter progressed, a great many
of the larvae were lost. I placed the pots ina small greenhouse about
the 1st of January, hoping to see the caterpillars revive and commence
feeding, and had the satisfaction soon after of seeing this desired result
take place. On the gth of January I noticed some of the cybele were
active and had been feeding; on the 21st, aphrodite and diana. ‘They
very soon began to increase in size perceptibly, and were active in running
about the leaves and in wandering off the flower pots. I should have
lost these lively ones had I not confined them to the plants by glass lamp
chimneys and glass globes. But in these the air was no doubt too con-
fined for an Argynnis caterpillar (though a Grapta would have thrived,)
for many died ; and I came near losing them all in a way that I had not
provided for, the gardener having taken occasion one day, when I was
absent from home, to smoke the entire house with tobacco, forgetting to
remove my pots.
From this catastrophe emerged about a score of cybele, half a dozen
aphrodite, anda few of diana. hese larvae all throughout this period
grew very slowly, no doubt owing to the cooling down of the house at
nights, so that it was the 27th of January before I was able to see that any
had passed the first moult. The first to change was cydele, whlch now
appeared in a coat of smoky brown, covered with long fleshy spines, from
which sprung many short black bristles. These spines were of the general
appearance shown in the several successive moults. In all there were
five moults to each of these species, and until the fourth they maintained
their close resemblance to one another, so that had one from either lot
escaped to another, I could not have separated them. They were
cylindrical, thick, furnished with six rows of stout black spines, from the
ends and sides of which sprung stiff bristles. ‘The color of the body was
silky brown or black, and at bases of part of the spines were yellow or
fulvous spots. The heads were bilobed, brown or black, much tubercled,
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 1 Se
with conical vertices, and the back of the head was yellow or fulvous ;
the spines of the second segment were rather longer than the rest and
projected forward horizontally over the head. After the fourth moult
there were some differences. Cyde/e became larger than aphrodite, though
not varying much in other respects, the one measuring at maturity about
two inches in length, and the other about one and a half inches. But
diana, which was also large, like cydele, at the fourth moult, displayed
spines of immense size, nearly twice the length of those of the other two
species. These radiated from the central axis of the body, like spokes
from the hub of a wheel, the lower lateral row drooping so that the ends
were on the level of the feet. The spines of the second segment, four in
all, two dorsal and two lateral, were a formidable protection to the head.
It was a superb creature.
The mortality had been so great among all these larvae that at last, as
they approached maturity, they were reduced to but three or four of
cybele, two of aphrodite,and one of diana, and how to preserve these was
amatter of much anxiety. I arranged a keg with a high gauze bag over
the top of it, which bag was confined by the upper hoop, and in the keg
were planted violets every two or three days, as the leaves were consumed.
This plan seemed to answer well, affording plenty of air, and I regretted
that I had not tried it sooner. The larvae were fond of resting high up
the sides of the bag, or on elevated sticks under it, coming down when
impelled by hunger. After remaining motionless for hours, they would
suddenly arouse themselves and start off in extreme haste, wandering all
round the enclosure, and when leaves were reached, would eat ravenously
and then climb up to rest again. I sometimes found them extended on
the earth, and no doubt they appreciated the coolness and dampness
of it.
Only three cyde/e went into chrysalis. They spun buttons of white silk
and soon hung suspended, nearly straight, the anterior segments but little
bent, and so continued about two days, when the change to chrysalis
occurred. The first change was on the roth of May, and three months
and ten days from the awaking from hybernation. ‘The chrysalis yielded
the imago in twenty-three or twenty-four days, and the whole period from
the laying of the egg to the imago was just thirty-eight weeks. One
aphrodite only fastened for chrysalis. This was on the 14th of May, and
the change occurred on the 15th, an interval of about thirty-six hours
Unfortunately this insect died in chrysalis.
124 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
net
Diana fixed on the 17th,and became a chrysalis on the roth, the interval
being about fifty-four hours. This yielded a butterfly on the 9th of June,,
after twenty to twenty-one days. The chrysalids of the three bore a
strong likeness to each other, being all of the same general shape, and I
may say in brief that they would be tolerably represented by the figure:
of the chrysalis of A. ag/ata, in Humphrey’s British Butterflies, although
much larger than that figure. The length of cydele and diana was rather
over one inch; aphrodite was as long, but more slender than the others,,
and it, as well as dana, was prettily streaked and variegated in brown and
red; cySele was plain brown, and in one case yellow brown, with little
ornamentation. By Miss Peart’s assistance I was able to obtain a com-
plete series of drawings from egg to chrysalis of each species, and of the
several moults of each, and I propose to introduce these figures in course
of Vol. 2, Butterflies of N. A.
Cybele was flying this year at Coalburgh, on the 1st of June, and
these early examples must have come from larvae that began to feed after
hybernation in March, as the food plant then would first appear above
ground, so that the larval period after hybernation, when in the natural
state, would be two months shorter than in the cases related above.
With regard to the food plant, I used every species of wild violet
accessible from the woods, and during the winter cultivated species, and
discovered no preference for one more than another. The wild violets
were in flower part of the time, and the flowers were eaten by the cater-
pillars with avidity. The contrast between the habits of these larvae and
those of other genera not far separated from them, according to the
received arrangement, is something remarkable—as Graf/a, for instance.
One is in the preparatory stages nine months in the year, is impatient of
confinement, extremely tender and.raised only by the greatest care; the
other is hardy, indifferent to confinement, and completes its cycle in about
thirty days, from the laying of the egg to the appearance of the butterfly ;
one is single brooded, the other many brooded, at Coalburgh there being
three or four. The number is probably dependant in any latitude upon
the length of the season.
There are one or two points in the life history of the larger
Argynnides that are not yet clear. With us, cydele f is on the wing from
the 25th of May to the ioth of June, as I have noticed for several
successive years. Probably aphrodite nearly as soon, and dana first
appears about the 2oth of June. Shortly after the rst of June the ? of
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. [Ze
cybele is to be seen, and both sexes abound in the clover fields. By the
end of June cybe/e has become scarce, and the individuals to be seen have
lost their freshness and are broken and worn. It is certain that these
early appearing females have not matured eggs and laid them, because at
no time from June to August will anything but rudimentary eggs be found
by dissecting, and the eggs do not become distinguishable to the eye
until August. They then mature rapidly, and in a few days attain full
‘size. JI am confident that no eggs are laid till August. But about the
first of that month and all along to near the end of it, there appear in
great numbers both fresh males and females, asif just from chrysalis, with
no abrasion of the hairs on thorax between the wings, which spot is the
first to show wear. (I doubt if an Avgynzis could fly two days without
thus giving evidence of it.) There are flying at the same time many worn
individuals, especially females. These last are the first to deposit their
eggs, but shortly after, and up to the time of frosts, the others also are in
condition to do the same. I see no explanation of the appearance of
these freshly emerged butterflies than that they have formed part of the
brood of caterpillars hatched the previous fall, some of which brood
yielded the butterflies that came out in May and June, and the remainder
continued in the larval or chrysalis state until August, and upon these last
the perpetuation of the species largely depends, for nine-tenths of the June
flight must have been destroyed long before August. If [ am mght, the
preparatory stages of the August cyde/e must consume eleven months out
of the twelve.
CATOCALA WHITNEYI, /&. sp.
BY G. M. DODGE, GLENCOE, DODGE CO., NEBRASKA.
Expands 14 inches. Primaries light gray, the outer third brownish,
‘with a triangular gray spot near the apex. A narrow black line near the
base of the wing extends from the costa to the submedian vein. Parallel
to this and farther out, a black patch, narrowest at the costa and broadest
on the second median veinlet, extends nearly across the wing. ending
at the submedian vein. A triangular black patch surrounds the brownish
reniform spot, and immediately back of this a curved black line reaches
from the swb-dorsal vein to the second median veinlet. The secondaries
126 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
are yellow. The black median band is curved, constricted in the middle
and ends abruptly at the submedian vein. The marginal band is broadest
at the apex, is sometimes broken opposite the termination of the median
band, and extends but little beyond the submedian vein. There is a
small yellow apical spot. Fringe on fore wings brown ; on hind wings
whitish, partly brown at base.
Beneath the prevailing color is yellow, being lighter outwardly. The
median band of the posteriors is narrower than above, and prolonged by
scattered black scales toward the anal angle. The marginal band is
unbroken. Lunule black. Thorax and collar light gray. About one-
third or less of the specimens taken are brown instead of gray. The
median band also varies in width.
I name this species in honor of Mr. C. P. Whitney, of Milford, New
Hampshire. My specimens were taken at Ohio, Ill., but it also occurs.
here. It is the only Catocala that I have ever seen attracted by flowers.
THE FOOD-PLANTS OF EUROPEAN BUTTERFLIES:
Second LVotice.
BY SAMUEL H. SCUDDER, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
The third and concluding part of Kaltenbach’s work (De LPjlanzen-
feinde aus der Classe der Insecten), has just been received in this country,
and contains the following notices of the food plants of European
butterflies, in addition to those previously given.* The numbers in
parentheses refer to the former list.
Melanargia galathea—Phleum pratense.
Erebia medusa—Panicum, Setaria.
ethiops—Dactylis.
Zigea—Mulium effusum.
Satyrus hermione—Holcus lanatus.
ce
I
2
3-
4. 73
5
* See CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, vi, 21-25.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. ey)
*
21.
22.
Satyrus circe—Lolium, Bromus, Anthoxanthum.
: brisets—Sesleria and other grasses.
semele—Several species of Aira.
adryas—Avena elatior.
Pararge mera—Poa annua, Glyceria fluitans, Hordeum murinum,
Festuca.
megera—Triticum and other grasses.
egerta—Triticum repens.
achine—Lolium teriueleutum, Carex.
LE pinephele anira—Poa annua and other grasses.
= tzda—Triticum cespitosum.
tithonus—Poa annua.
hyperantus—Milium effusum, Poa annua, P. pratensis.
Coenonympha hero—Elymus Europzeus and other grasses.
“3 iphis—Brachypodium sylvaticum, Cynosurus and other
grasses.
“ce
ce
ce
“cc
ce
ifs
ce
&e arcania—Melica nutans.
corvinna—Triticum cespitosum, Carex gynomane.
pamphilus—Poa, Anthoxanthum.
tiphon—Festuca elatior.
“
(12). Vanessa L. album—Hippophae rhamnoides, Gooseberry, Birch,
Purple willow.
(15). ‘¢ antiopa—Salix capreea.
(32). Melitea maturna—Fagus sylvatica, Scabiosa.
(34). ‘© cinxia—Alra canescens.
(46). Zhecla W. album—Prunus spinosa.
(47). “ iMicis—Quercus.
<< qguercus—Quercus.
(59). Lycena icarus—Medicago minima. -
. (67). “ semtargus—Anthyllis vulneraria.
(86). Pieris daplidice-—Diplotaxis tenuifolia.
. (87). Afporia crategi—Quercus.
Thais polyxena—Quercus ilex.
(97). Syrichtus malve—Fragraria vesca, Agrimonia eupatoria.
Hesperia thaumas—Aira montana, Festuca, Phleum.
- Zineola—Arrhenatherum avenacium.
39. (100). Hesperia sylvanus—Avyena pratensis, Holcus lanatus, Festuca.
128 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
MICRO - LEPIDOPTERA.
BY V. T. CHAMBERS, COVINGTON, KENTUCKY.
(Continued from page 97.)
COLEOPHORA.
[Antennae and palpi both simple. | a
C. selleriella. LN. sp.
Slate color, tinged with ochreous; apex of the abdomen yellowish ;
two longitudinal dusky lines on top of the abdomen, which, however, are
invisible in the dead specimen. A/. ex. xs inch. Kentucky.
The case is ochreous, slender, cylindrical, tapering a little to each
end, and compressed or pinched at the posterior end, so as to divide it
into three small ridges. It is about half an inch long, and was found
adhering to the bark of sugar trees (Acer saccharinum.)
C. argenti-albella. LN. sp.
Silvery white; some parts of the legs and under surface tinged with
yellowish. AZ. ex. #s inch. Kentucky. Larva and food plant unknown.
The long, slender case was found adhering to the bark of beech trees
(Fagus Americana ).
C. gigantella. . sp.
White, with seven longitudinal streaks upon the primaries, golden or
ochreous yellow according to the hight; one extends from the base just
within the costal margin to the beginning of the ciliae. Two other
parallel and oblique ones from the base near the costa to the dorsal margin
near the apex ; these are in the apical part of the wing, between the costal
one and the first oblique one, and the seventh is within the fold, extending
from the base to the dorsal ciliae.
Al. ex. 5 inch. Collection of Mr. Wm. Saunders, London, Ont.
C. aeneusella., IV. sp.
Greenish bronzy; posterior wings pale fuscous. 4/ ex. 5 lines.
Kentucky.
This species belongs to the section constituting Stephens’ genus
Metallosetia.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 129
{Antennae simple, second joint of palpi tufted at the apex. |
C. fagt-costicella. LN. sp.
Yellowish white ; a pale ochreous yellow streak from the base along
the middle of the wing to near the end of the disc, where it becomes
furcate and passes on into pale ochreous yellow of the apex; dorsal
margin pale ochreous yellow, and a pale ochreous yellow streak just
within the costal margin. AZ ex.¥% inch. Kentucky. The streaks are
-all obsolete or nearly so.
The larva and food plant are unknown, and I am perhaps wrong in
‘naming the species for the #adifa¢ in which I have always found the pupa.
I have found it so invariably upon the bark of beech trees as to make
me suspect that the larva feeds on beech leaves,or on the moss and lichens
which grow upon the bark. The larva case is almost cylindrical, tapering
-a little to each end, with a bent neck or tube at the anterior end, and
compressed or pinched together at the other end, so as to be deeply con-
‘Cave on the upper surface ; about the middle or just behind it its outer
envelope is scalloped or serated so as to present three or four deep
seratures or processes, looking as if the inside case had been inserted
into the small bracts of a young leaf bud, from which the bud had first
‘been removed. ;
C. unicolorella. WN. sp.
Entire insect grayish drab, unicolorous. AZ ex. i inch. Kentucky.
Larva and food plant unknown.
This can not be C. concolorella Clem., which is yellowish ochreous
‘without markings.
C. ciliwochrella. LN. sp.
Silvery white, becoming gradually tinged with reddish ochreous to the
apex of the primaries, the ciliae of which are distinctly reddish ochreous ;
antennae alternately annulate with white and brownish yellow. <A/. ex. 5
lines. The tuft on the palpal joint is very small.
[Basal joint of the antennae with a small tuft ; palpi simple. ]
C. rufo-luteella. LN. sp.
Head white ; lower portion of the face tinged with yellowish; a spot
on the vertex, and tuft of the basal joint of the antennae yellow ; antennz
white, each joint annulate at its base with yellowish brown, and a few
joints at the base entirely of that hue; thorax and anterior wings deep
130 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
reddish orange, deeper, almost brown towards the apex; sides of the
thorax and costal margin to the ciliz white. A/ ex. nearly % inch.
Kentucky. Captured in June.
[Basal half of the antennz thickened with scales ; palpi simple. |
C. auropurpuriella. LN. sp.
Entire insect, according to the light, golden brown or golden purple
with a greenish bronzy hue, especially towards the apex of the primaries,
where the greenish tinge is very decided; apical half of the antennae
annulate with silvery white. AZ ex. cinch. Coll. Mr. Wm. Saunders,
London, Ont. (Belongs to Metallosetia, Steph.)
[Basal joint of the antennae thickened with scales ; palpi tufted. |
C. lineapulvella. LN. sp.
White, faintly tinged with ochreous yellow ; dorsal margin and apex
of the primaries more distinctly yellowish ; two rather indistinct ochreous.
yellow lines begin before the middle of the wing and pass back, one to
the apex and one to the dorsal margin before the apex, the apical line
giving off a faint branch to the costal margin. Ciliae pale ochreous ; the
entire wing, except near the base, dusted with dark brown specks, which
are arranged in lines more or less parallel to each other; antennae
annulate with ochreous yellow. <A/. ex. 5 lines. Kentucky. ‘Taken at
the lamp.
I have taken on the wing many other species, but I refrain from
describing them until their food plants are known, a plan which I had
perhaps also better have adopted with some of the above, for many of the
species of this genus resemble each other so closely that it is well nigh
impossible to give written descriptions by which they can be identified.
Sicns Usep To DENoTE SEx.—I have often been puzzled to account
for the origin of the signs in use among naturalists to denote the male ( f)
and the female ( ? ) sexes; but the other day, while reading an astronomical
paper, I came across a fact which seems to offer a solution of the difficulty.
It appears that the first sign (#) has been used from remote antiquity to
signify the planet Mars, and is a rude representation of a spear behind a
shield, fit emblems of the God of War. Ceres, the goddess of corn, was
similarly symbolized by the sign used in zoology to denote the female sex,
with this slight difference, that in the original astronomical sign, the con-
tinuity of the circle is broken on the left side, so that the figure appropriately
represents a sickle.—Z. C. Lefroy in Hardwicke’s Science Gossip.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. LST
ONE W:O SPECIES (OF aa G ROT 1IS,j4 LEED ee
A. FRIASGULUM:
BY AUG. R. GROTE,
Curator of Articulata, Buffalo Soc. of Natural Sciences.
Among the material submitted to me for determination by Professor
Packard, from the Peabody Academy of Science, are specimens from
Maine and Massachusetts of two species of Agroftis allied to, but distinct
from A. ¢riangulum.
Agrotis attentus. lL. sp.
The eyes are naked. The middle and hind tibiae are armed, but the
fore tibiae are without spines; male antennae simple, bristled and
pubescent. Fore wings pulverulent brown, paler over the costal region,.
on which the inception of the geminate lines are marked in dark brown..
There is a narrow deep brown basal ray extending to the dentate indistinct
t.a.line. Disc not suffused with darker brown between the ordinary
spots, which are moderate, pale, with fine dark annuli. Orbicular
spherical, complete, not pointed inferiorly, as in ¢riangulum. ‘T. p. line
with its pale centre alone perceivable, denticulated, notched opposite the
cell. The subterminal space is not differentiated by any darker tint ; the
subterminal line is pale, preceded at costa by a very slightly darker brown
shade, not always noticeable, and not at all like the determinate mark of
triangulum. Male hind wings almost whitish ; female darker. Thorax
and head like fore wings. Beneath the fore wings are brown, with the
exterior line indicated ; hind wings with brown costal region, else pale,
with faint discal spot and a double subterminal line marked on the costal
region. Maine; two specimens ; expanse, 36 m. m.
Agrotis perattentus. LV. sp.
Eyes naked; fore tibiae unarmed, middle and hind tibiae spinose;
male antennae simple, bristled and pubescent. Color of A. attentus, but
brighter, rosy brown and more like ¢riangulum, on account of the discal
field before the orbicular and between the spots being suffused with dark
brown shading. Orbicular spherical, pale ; claviform indicated in out-
line ; a deep brown shading accompanies the basal dash. Reniform large
and wider than in ¢vzangu/um. Ordinary lines distinct, geminate, dark
brown ; t. p. line with its inner line distinct, lunulate ; its outer line lost
132 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
against the darker brown subterminal space, which is differentiated by its
deeper color and which it inwardly limits. Subterminal line indicated by
the difference in color between the subterminal and terminal spaces, the
latter concolorous with the rest of the wing. Hind wings pale testaceous
fuscous in #, more fuscous in 2. Beneath a common fuscous line and
dots ; the tint is testaceous, with fuscous powdering; fore wings the
-darker, with ruddy costal edge. Mass.; Me.; expanse, 32 to 36 m. m.
Both these species are slighter bodied than the European A. “72-
angudum, and differ in ornamentation by the shape of the ordinary spots,
the conformation of the t. p. line, and the pallor of the hind wings.
Mamestra renigera (Steph.)
This species, referred in my “ List” to Hadena (p. 16), belongs to
Mamestra, and should be interpolated on page 13 1. c., between JZ
cinnabarina and AL. laudabilts.
NOTES ON THE LARVA OF LEUCANIA. PSEUDARGYRI
GUENEE.
BY F. B. CAULFIELD, MONTREAL, P. Q.
On April 18th of this season, while searching for insects on Montreal
Mountain, I found under a stone at the foot of a hickory tree, a larva, of
which the following is a description :
Length two inches. Form cylindrical, slightly annulated. Head
reddish yellow, with two brown streaks,and marbled with lines and dots
of the same color; semi-transparent, shiny, slightly bilobed, with a few
scattered hairs of a whitish brown color. Mandibles brown.
Body above dirty greenish grey, with darker spots and blotches, a
faint white dorsal line, and another of the same color a little above the
spiracles ;_ sides light greenish grey, minutely spotted with brown, with a
few scattered hairs of a brown color, tipped with yellowish white, Under-
surface, feet and prolegs very light greenish grey.
I placed this larva ina box with some earth,but owing to the backward-
ness of the season I could not find any food for it. It went under the
earth on April 21st, and turned to a chrysalis on April 23rd. The imago
emerged on May z2oth, and proved to be Leucania pseudargyria, Guen.
That this larva hybernated there can be no doubt, and I believe, as a
rule, that those larvee which lie dormant during the winter, when spring
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Too
comes, feed again for a short time before changing to chrysalis, but this
instance proves that food is not always necessary to them after they have
hybernated, as there was not even a bud to be seen when I found it. Of
course under its natural conditions it would have partaken of some food
as soon as vegetation appeared, otherwise it would have pupated in the
autumn. This deviation from the usual habit may be attributed to its
changed conditions, the warmth of the house hastening its’ trans-.
formations.
FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE
MONTREAL BRANCH OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF ONTARIO.
During the summer of 1873 a fortunate circumstance occurred to
which this Branch owes its origin. The following gentlemen, viz., Wm.
Couper, F. B. Caulfield, Wm. Hibbins, C. W. Pearson and G. B. Pearson,
met by chance on the Montreal Mountain, where the subject was
discussed, and it was then decided to hold a meeting at the residence of
Mr. Caulfield, in order to make further arrangements for its formation.
This meeting was held on the 30th of August, when it was resolved to.
form a branch in connection with the Entomological Society of Ontario,
and the Secretary fro. fem. was instructed to write to the parent society,
asking permission to form a Branch Society in this city. This proposition
Was at once accepted by the parent Society.
On the 16th of October the following officers were elected for the
ensuing year :—William Couper, President ; M. Kollmar, Vice-President ;,
F, B. Caulfield, Secretary-Treasurer ; Council—G. J. Bowles, P. Knetzing
and C. W. Pearson ; Curator, William Hibbins.
By-Laws were framed for the guidance of the Branch, which were
approved by the parent Society. Our monthly meetings have been
regularly held and well attended, and your Council congratulate the
Society on the benefits derived. During the eight meetings which have been
held, independent of the production of original communications on
Entomology, there were remarkably good exhibitions of insects, which.
also tended to give additional information to members.
134 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
The first meeting of the Branch in August, 1873, consisted of seven
members, and since then five additional members have been elected.
The following papers were read during the winter months :
‘<A Dissertation on Northern Butterflies,” by William Couper; ‘ On
the Cicindelidae Occurring on the Island of Montreal,” by F. B. Caulfield ;
“On Some of the Benefits Derived from Insects,” by F. B. Caulfield.
The following works have been donated during the year :
‘“On Some Remarkable Forms of Animal Life from the Great Deeps
of the Norwegian Coast,” by G. O. Sars, 1 vol.;. “ On Norwegian
Crustaceans,” by G. O. Sars, 2 vols.; “Synopsis of the Acrididae of
North America,” by Cyrus Thomas, 1 vol.
Your Council would suggest that the Curator procure store boxes for
the preservation of the specimens obtained for the Society during the
approaching season. In this way the nucleus of a collection can be
formed prior to the purchase of a cabinet, which your Council trusts the
Society will be possessed of before next winter.
Your Council would also suggest that members carry note-books
wherein to record Entomological observations, especially relative to
insects injurious to the crops; also of such species as are considered
beneficial in checking the progress of destructive insects. As this is one
of the principal objects of the Society, field notes of this nature are |
always valuable, and should form subjects of investigation and discussion
at our meetings. Attention should be given to the larval forms of insects,
as this is a specialty of Entomology from which much knowledge is yet to
be obtained.
Your Council strongly impress on the members to use their influence
in promoting a knowledge of the importance of the study of Entomology,
more especially with agriculturists and horticulturists, in crder to enable
them to check the ravages of the numerous insects injurious to vege-
tation.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
Wo. CouPER, C. W. PEARSON,
Chairman. GEO. JNo. BowLes.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. ke
ee _______ eee
NOTES ON THE SPECIES. OF OODII OF LOUISIANA.
BY S. V. SUMMERS, M. D., NEW ORLEANS, LA.
The species belonging to this sub-tribe, although small in number,
rank with the rarer forms of Carabidz ; they may easily he known by their
glabrous body and the confluent eighth and ninth strize of the elytra.
Several of the Oodii bear a superficial resemblance to certain Amara
allied to fallax. With one exception (O. eegans) the species are all
Atlantic, occurring more abundantly southward. Oodes fluvialis must be
considered a typical northern species, occurring rarely near St. Louis,
Mo., but more abundant at Rock Island, Ill. O. elegans has occurred
with Dr. Le Conte along the Gila River, in Arizona. We may expect
additional species from the Southern Pacific region and the western source
of the Rio Grande.
Lachnocrepis parallelus (Say).
A single ~ specimen taken in November, under a partially submerged
log on the Jackson R. R., near New Orleans. Dr. Horn gives the length
0.42 inch (Trans. Am. Ent. Soc., v. 3, p. 106); my specimen measures
0.44 inch long. Color black, somewhat shiny ; basal angles of thorax
reddish brown. I have not been able to find this species in any of the
New Orleans collections. I have seen one in Mr. Trabrandt’s cabinet,
from Mexico, near the Rio Grande.
Anatrichis minuta (Dej.) a4: _
Our smallest Oodii; length, o.20--0.25 inch. Rather rare. Specimens
taken adhering to under surface of logs near streams, and on sifting mud
from roots of plants over water, This species seems not to have occurred
in Louisiana collections before last winter.
Oodes amaroides (Dej.)
Length, 0.34-0.40 inch. More than twenty specimens taken in galleries
under logs, in very damp or muddy places. The species of the sub-genus
Oodes (Chaudoir), have the ability to remain under water for nearly an hour
at a time, and are seldom found running on the ground.
Oodes Americanus (Dej.)
Length, 0.58 inch. Asingle # taken under a rail on the Ponchartrain
R. R. Several others occur with Mr. Trabrandt. Our largest and rarest
136 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
species ; none of my /uvialis measure over 0.52 inch. Dr. Horn gives.
this and the preceding species as 0.50 inch long (avzte. )
Oodes cupreus (Chaud.)
Several specimens taken by Mr. Trabrandt. I have found this species.
pretty common near St. Louis, Mo., on baling water over mud flats. They
take flight very readily, and may be found running on the ground on warm
days, but I have never been able to find them or Zeconfet remain under
water longer than most Carabide. The La. specimen before me is greatly
mutilated, and I am reluctant to give its measurement. The Missouri
species give o.40 inch long.
Oodes Lecontet (Chaud.)
Length, f,0.36inch; ,0.40 inch. Not rare. Many specimens taken
under logs near water on bailing near the shore; also running on the ground
in July and August. Itis amore robust species than cupraeus, less shining
and with punctured striz. A single specimen taken somewhere on the
coast of Miss., during the stoppage of steamer to ‘wood up,” in June.
Oodes 14-striatus (Chaud.)
Length, 0.42--0.47 inch. Common. everywhere near N. O. during the-
summer; found under logs and running on the ground near water, and
frequently under loose bark in the woods. ‘The specimens have a
decidedly greenish tinge when alive. ‘They are not as active as the Oodes
and Stenous groups. Mr. Trabrandt informs me that they do not occur:
abundantly every year. They are also found in Texas and Mexico.
Oodes texanus, Lec. e
Length, 0.42 inch— ~. A single specimen taken by C. Trabrandt
while collecting together, and given me as a r4¢-striatus, from which it is at
once distinguished by the punctured striz. ‘The specimen occurred under
some rail-road ties on the Ponchartrain R. R., on high ground, not near
water. Dulligent search has sinced failed to discover others.
Livolenes tmpressus, Lec.
Length, 0.37 inch— 2. A single specimen taken near New Orleans.
and given me by Mr. Em. Trochammur. ‘This is the rarest Oodii occurring
in La. Any enlargement on descriptions of species would seem out of
place, but would refer all to Dr. Horn’s admirable and complete synopsis.
in Trans. Am. Ent. Soc., Vol. 3, No. 2, 1870.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 137
Crinus scrophularia, Auct.
A unique of this European Curculio was taken on wood wharf, June
30th. There can be little doubt of the correctness of this determination.
My specimen is 0.16 inch long (exclusive of rostrum). Body black.
Rostrum shorter than thorax, slightly arcuate; antenne inserted about
two thirds from tip, piceous; club somewhat paler. Thorax much narrower
than base of elytra, covered with dense prostrate yellowish hairs, and with
an elevated transverse ridge at middle ; elytra somewhat triangular, black-
ish, coarsely punctured and with four black longitudinal vitte, dotted with
whitish. A rather large, oblong, dense black spot, margined posteriorly
with whitish hairs, placed on the suture, near the scutellum, and a similar
but smaller spot at apex. Legs blackish, more or less speckled with
whitish hairs.
ANTICOSTL C@EEOPTERA:
COLLECTED ON THE ISLAND IN 1873; BY WM. COUPER, MONTREAL.
(As determined by J. L. Leconte, M. D.)
Notiophilus sibiricus, AMofsch.
Carabus palustris, Fischer.
“« lapilayi, Laporte.
Calathus ingratus, Dez.
-. |» econtiysus, .L¢¢.
Pterostichus coracinus, Lec.
= Juczoti, Lec.
Harpalus pleuriticus, Azrdy.
Boletobius pygmaeus, Jann.
Creophilus villosus, A7z7dy.
Anthobium dimidiatum, Meds.
Necrophorus vespilloides, Herbst.
. mortuorum (pygmaeus),
Kirby.
Hydnobius substriatus, Lec.
Epuraea boreella, £7.
Omosita colon, £7.
Byrrhus americanus, Lec. |
Heterocerus substriatus, Aves.
Aphodius fimetarius, 77.
‘- —ruricola, Meds.
¢ granarius,var. spretus, (add.
Chrysobothris trinervia, Lez.
Elater mixtus, Zee.
Agriotes fucosus, Lec.
Limonius quercinus, De.
Sericosomus incongruus, Lec.
Corymbites resplendens, Zsch.
“« aeineicollis(Kendalli), Azrdy.
“_. spmosus, Lec;
“<. aiatusa&.
Eros coccinatus, Say.
Podabrus basillaris, Say.
“ Jaevicollis, Azrdy.
Telephorus fraxini, Say.
Dolichosoma foveicollis, Azrby.
Hadrobregmus foveatus, Azrdy.
Spondylus upiformis, JZann.
Criocephalus agrestis, Azrdy.
Pachyta monticola, Rand.
Acmaeops pratensis (strigilata.)
Leptura pedalis.
Donacia emarginata, Azrdy.
Syneta tripla, Say.
138 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Pachybrachis atomarius, Jes. Dendroctonus rufipennis.
Bromius vitis, adr. Amara, not determined.
Anaspis rufa, Say. Cyphon, indeterminate.
Hylobius pinicola, Couper. Graptodera, not named.
Dryocaetus septentrionis, //és¢. Ceutorhynchus, not determined.
ON SOME OF OUR COMMON INSECTS.
17.—THE CURRANT GEOMETER OR MEASURING WORM
—Ellopia (abraxis) ribearia, Fitch.
BY, THE EDITOR:
This insect is now becoming very abundant in most parts of Ontario,
and is a very troublesome pest. Its peculiar mode of progression will
enable one to readily distinguish it from the common Saw-fly caterpillar,
for, having its feet placed at each extremity, it arches its body into a sort
of loop at every step, and is hence popularly called a measuring worm or
span worm.
Fig. 22 (after Riley) shows this caterpillar in various attitudes. At
2 it is represented hanging from a silken thread which it has the power of
Fig: 22. spinning at will, and by means
of which it is enabled to lower
itself suddenly from the bush
when danger threatens, and re-
mains suspended in mid air until
it can safely return to its former
position. When full grown, it
measures an inch ora little more
in length... ‘Its head sisuerea
medium size, white, bilobed with
a large round black spot on the
upper part of each lobe, a short
black stripe across the front, a
S little above the mouth, with a
small spot of the same color on
each side of it ; there are alsoa
few short black hairs scattered
over its surface ; jaws black.
The body above is whitish, with
a number of black spots of different sizes on each ring or segment ; there
‘i
iM
NS
NS
SE EEN 6)
21.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 139
is a wide yellow stripe down the back, and another of the same character
along each side, but somewhat broken. The under side is white, with a
‘slight tinge of pink, and also spotted with black, with a wide yellow stripe
down the middle. The feet are blackish; prolegs yellow, dotted with
black.
When full grown, the larva descends to the earth and buries itself a
little below the surface, where it is transformed into a dark brown chrysalis
about half an inch long, and remains in this inactive state from two to
three weeks.
The moth, see fig. 23 (after Riley), is of a pale yellowish color, with
‘several dusky spots varying in size, form and distinctness in different
specimens ; sometimes they are so arranged as Fig. 23.
to form one or two irregular bands across the
wings; when these latter are expanded they
Measure about 1% inches. Soon after the
moths escape they pair and shortly the female
-deposits her eggs on the twigs and branches of
the gooseberry and currant bushes, where it is
‘said they remain unchanged until the following spring.
This insect is a native of America, and was formerly confined to the
wild gooseberry and currant bushes, on which we still occasionally see
them. The larvae are found in various stages of their growth, from the
Ist to about the 2oth of June, and will feed on the black currant as well
.as on the red and white currant and gooseberry. The moths begin to
appear during the first days of July, and are very common for two or three
weeks following.
Powdered hellebore mixed with water and used with a watering pot,
or Paris green mixed with twenty times its weight of flour and dusted on
the bushes, will be found effectual remedies for the destruction of this
caterpillar. The habit it has of letting itself down from the bush with a
silken thread, and remaining suspended, may also be turned to practical
account in its capture, for if, after tapping the infested bushes, a forked
stick or some similar instrument is passed under it, all the hanging threads
may be caught and the larvae drawn out in groups and crushed with the
foot.
140 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
EDITORIAL SUMMARY.
We have been kindly favored with a copy of the ‘ Sixth Annual Report:
on the Noxious, Beneficial and Other Insects of the State of Missouri,” by
C. V. Riley, State Entomologist, 8vo., pp. 160, with 55 illustrations. Both
entomologists and agriculturists are laid under lasting obligations to Mr.
Riley for these excellent yearly reports on the life history and depredations.
of many of our insects. The present Report opens with ‘‘ Notes of the
Year,” under which heading there are given some practical observations.
on the Codling Moth, the Colorado Potato Beetle and the Cotton Worm.
Next follows a lengthy and exhaustive chapter of 56 pages on the Grape
Phylloxera, in which is brought together in a consecutive form all the
facts hitherto published in reference to this interesting insect. The Blue
Caterpillars of the Vine then claim attention, each species being nicely
illustrated. Detailed accounts are given also of Ham Beetles,the Clover
Worm, the legged Maple Borer, the Raspberry Root Borer, the Northern.
Brenthian and the Jumping Sumach Beetle. A chapter on Beneficial
Insects is next in order, in which the life history of a parasite on the
common white grub is detailed. Then follow observations on the
Dominican Case Bearer, the Yucca Moth, Hackberry Butterflies, closing
with an interesting chapter on the Katydids. Mr. Riley seems admirably
adapted to fill the position in which he has been placed, and we sincerely
hope he may long be spared to prosecute the work he loves so well.
INTERESTING CapTruREs.—Mr. F. C. Lowe, of Dunnville, has recently
been on a collecting tour in the county of Essex, and we have been
favored with a sight of some of his captures. Among the more interesting
insects secured, we would especially mention a very handsome and perfect
specimen of Papilio marcellus, with the ground color an unusually fine
pale green. Mr. Lowe saw three of these insects on the wing in the
neighborhood of North Ridge, about four miles from Essex Centre, on
the Canada Southern R. R, but only succeeded in capturing one of them..
Papilio thoas—several taken. ‘This insect was quite common in almost
every clover field in that neighborhood. Mr. Lowe took two specimens
of thoas last season on the River St. Clair, near Port Lambton. Zhyreus
nessus also common in clover fields ; esp. oileus, several specimens ; also:
the following, all captured between the roth and 2oth June: reba
nephele, common; Ludamus tityrus, common; Papilio turnus and P.
troilus ; Nisoniades catullus, not rare ; M. tharos, common; 2. Americana,
common ; /Zfesp. bathylus, rather plentiful ; esp. zabulon, very common,
LVisoniades perstus, Trichius bidens and Desmocerus palliatus.
Che Canadian Entomologist,
VOL. VI. LONDON, ONT., AUGUST, 1874. ‘No. 8
ON SOME OF OUR COMMON INSECTS.
I8.— THE SPOTTED PELIDNOTA—Felidnota punctata, Linn.
BY THE EDITOR.
This large and handsome beetle is an enemy to the grape vine. It
attacks the foliage, eating numerous holes in the leaves, and sometimes
Fig. 24.
when the beetles are abun-
dant, completely riddling
them. Damage from this
cause to any great extent is
however, fortunately of rare
occurrence; in most instances
the beetles are not numerous,
but even where only occasion-
ally met with, their size and
beauty will always attract
notice.
In the accompanying figure
24 (after Riley) this insect
ss is shown in its three stages of
larva (a), chrysalis (4), and beetle (c) ; it is in the latter state only that
it is injurious to the vine.
The beetle measures about one inch in length, and half an inch in
width at its widest part, is nearly oval in form and of a dull reddish yellow
color, with a polished surface. The thorax, which is slightly darker than
the wing covers, has a small black spot on each side, and there are three
larger ones on each wing case. The jaws and posterior part of the head
are both black; so also is the scutellum, which is a small,nearly triangular
piece placed near the centre above, just where the two anterior edges of
142 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
the wing cases join the thorax. The transparent gauzy wings, which are
concealed when not in flight under the wing cases, are dark brown. The
under side of the beetle is of a dark green shade, with a metallic lustre
and downy about the middle, with fine brownish hairs; legs dark shining
green.
It appears with us during July and August, and is moderately active
during the day time, flying about from vine to vine with a heavy awkward
flight and loud buzzing noise. After pairing, the female deposits her
eggs in rotten wood, on which the grub, when hatched, feeds; the decaying
stumps and exposed roots of different trees are usually selected for this
purpose. Mr. Riley, of St. Louis, Mo., was the first to describe this
larva, and we quote his description as given in the American Entomolo-
Mis, Vl 2, p. 205°:
“Tt is a large, clumsy grub, bearing a close resemblance to the
common white grub of our meadows, and differs from that species
principally in having the skin more polished and of a purer white color,
and in the distinct heart-shaped swelling above the anus, fig. 24, d.
Towards the latter part of June we have found this larva (fig. 24, @), in
common with the pupa (4), in rotten stumps and roots of the pear. In
preparing for the pupa state the larva forms a rather unsubstantial cocoon
of its own excrement, mixed with the surrounding wood. The pupa
state lasts but from eight to ten days, and the beetle (c) 1s found on our
vines during the months of July, August and September. - It is not yet
known how long a time is required for the developement of the larva, but
from analogy we may infer that the insect lives in that state upwards of
three years.”
In the figure, e shows the antenna of the larva, and / one of the legs
—both magnified.
This insect in our Domtnion is confined mainly to the province of
Ontario, and prevails most in the western section. We are notaware of
its having been found at allin Quebec. It is common in most of the
Western and Eastern States. Should it become sufficiently numerous in
any section to excite alarm, it may readily be checked by hand picking ;
the insect being heavy and clumsy in its movements, may be easily
captured and destroyed.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 143
THE LINNEAN SIGNIFICATION OF THE GENERIC
TERM PAPILIO.
BY SAMUEL H. SCUDDER, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
Perhaps no part of my “ Systematic Revision of Some of the American
Butterflies” has been more severely criticized than the restoration of the
Linnean name Papilio to one of the nymphalideous butterflies, Antiopa.
The principal objection made to this change, besides the fact that it runs
counter to the current of modern usage, being that it violates the idea of
the genus as it lay in the mind of its founder. The attention of those
interested is called to the following historical facts, not given in the
Revision.
The name Papilio was established by Linné in the first edition of his
Systema Nature, in 1735*, where the following division occurs :
ANGIOPTERA.
Alae omnibus date, elytris destitute.
PapiLio. Restrum spirale, alae 4. Papilio alis erectis.
Psyche alis planis.
Phalaena alis compressis.
Here the typical Papiliones are the butterflies in general. The
succeeding genera of Angioptera are Lebellula, Ephemera, Hemerobtus,
Panorpa, Raphidia, Apis, Lchneumon and Musca.
In the second edition of the same work (1740) we find the following
on p. 60:
153- Papitio. Cauda simplex, alae iv. Rostrum spirale seu nullum.
Pap. antennis clavatis, pedibus 4.
6, alis erectis angulatis.
“: - . 6, os rotundatis.
6, alis patentibus.
6, alis reflexis.
Pap. ore spirale, antennis subulatis.
= cs < barbatis.
& ““nnlle: re subulatis.
S - ee barbatis.
* JT have only been able to consult Fee’s reprint, Paris, 1830, p. 76.
144 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
The butterflies with aborted front legs (¢. e., Nymphales) are: here:
placed at the head of the series.
The third edition (1740) was but a reprint of the first, for German
students.
The following arrangement occurs on p. 94 of the fourth edition
(1744.) :
160. PapiLio. Antenne clavate.
P.pedibus, 4.
6¢ 6, alis erectis angulatis. |
ES 6, 5 rotundatis. > le Papillon.
és 6, alis patentibus. |
ee 6, alis reflexis. |
Here Papilio is stlll further restricted, always in the direction of the
butterflies, and those with atrophied front legs are still at the head of the
series.
In the year 1746 the first edition of the Fauna Suecica was published,.
in which Linné for the first time treats of species, giving to them names
in the language of the country. The butterflies are found on pp. 232-
248, and are divided into two groups, as follows :
[232.|* Pedibus quaternis unguiculatis.
[240.]** Pedibus sex unguiculatis.
The so-called tetrapods still at the summit. Thespecies are numbered
from 772 to 807; the species afterwards named aztiopa is No. 772 ; that
called machaon, No. 791.
In the fifth edition of the Systema Nature (1747), under Gymnaptera,
p. 68, is an exact repetition of what is found in the second edition.
The sixth edition (1748) contains the following on p. 63:
185. PapiLio. Antenne clavate.
1. Papilio pedibus 4, alis erectis angulatis. morio Fn. 772.
polychloros Fn. 773.
urticana Fn. 774.
C. duplex Fn. 775.
oculis pavonis Fn. 776.
ammiralis Fn. 777.
belladonna Fn. 778.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 145
2. Papilio pedibus 4, alis erectis rotundatis. | imperator Fn. 779.
comes Fn. 783.
3. Papilio pedibus 6, alis erectis angulatis. regina Fn. 791.
canicularis Fn. 795.
4. Papilio pedibus 6, alis erectis rotundatis. _ brassicaria Fn. 799.
aurora Fn. 801,
alpicola Fn. 802.
argus Fn. 803-806.
butyracea Fn. 807, 808.
Here not only are the four-footed butterflies placed first, but, as in the
‘Fauna Suecica, “ morio” (i. e., anttopa) heads the list, followed directly
by the butterflies most closely allied to it—folychloros, urtice, c-album, to,
atalanta and cardut, in the same order as they occur in the Fauna Suecica,
sto which the numbers on the right refer.
In the seventh edition (1748), exactly the same is found on p. 63.
The eighth edition contains no animals.
In the ninth edition (1756) we find precisely the same as in the sixth
excepting in the first line, which reads, p. 69 :
196. Papitio. Antenne clavate. \e Papillon.
Not until the tenth edition (1758) of his great work, did Linné place
the “swallow-tails” at the head of the genus Papilio, in the order too
well known to require repetition here. In view of these facts, it is worth
enquiring: In Linné’s mind, which was a ¢ypical Papilio—Antiopa or
Machaon? and was there, or was there not, any reason for specially
selecting Antiopa as the type of Papilio, when it was found, in 1872, that
‘by Schrank’s first limitation of the genus, in 1801, it must be applied to
-some one of the Nymphales?
ENTOMOBOGCICAEL NOTES:
BY W. V. ANDREWS, NEW YORK.
Mr. J. E. Fletcher has a note in the March No. of Newman's Ento-
mologist, on “ Controlling Sex‘in Lepidoptera.” He says: ‘‘ During last
summer, I had a few larve of Exapate congeatella feeding on privet ; as I
“was greatly occupied with other things, they were neglected ; the supply
146 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
of food was very irregularly given and short in quantity, yet the moths
produced from them consisted of four males, full sized, and eleven
females, some of these latter being much below the average of the species
im-size.+
I presume that the reason Mr. Fletcher supposed that the result may
have been very different was because he had read in “Newman” the
result of an experiment performed by an American lady, I think Mrs.
Treat, who, having underfed a lot of larvee, succeeded in producing all
males, the inference drawn being that males were simply underfed
females. I wrote some notes on this subject for “ Newman,” thinking
that Mrs. Treat’s paper had appeared originally in that publication. It
seems, however, that it did not, and I now reproduce the substance of
those notes here, as more likely to meet the eyes of all concerned.
First, then, I would remark that this clearly is not Nature’s method of
“controling sex.” IPf a batch of larvae, say of V. antiopa, all feed on the
same elm, there will be produced both males and females, although the
feeding must be alike for all. But there is an excellent opportunity
afforded Mrs. Treat of testing the value of her theory, by the larva of
Thyreus Abbottii (Swains.) It is well known that the male larva of this
species is altogether different in color from that of the female, so the
sexes are easily distinguished.
Now, if Mrs. Treat will take the female larve, and by underfeeding it
produce male imagines, the thing will be more satisfactory. I am not
unaware that in Hymenoptera food is said to have a good deal to do with
the production of sex, but still Mrs. Treat’s experiment cannot be con-
sidered as conclusive.
Hasty generalization is a fault to which we are very liable, and
doubtless the ambition to discover a new law is very laudable. A case
of this nature occurs in your No. 5, vol. 6. Ina paperappearing in that
number, Mr. Gentry, of Germantown, fancies he has discovered the law
which produces difference of color in caterpillars of the same species.
Now, to be of any value, thisdaw must be universal, and the facts of the
case do not show any such universality. Mr. Gentry thinks that the
difference in color and markings where this occurs is attributable to the
difference in the chemical constituents of the food plant at different
seasons of the year. He selects as one instance the larva of LZacles
emperialis, and gives, correctly enough, three varieties of color. _ But,
unfortunately, these varieties occur at one part of the season as well as at
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 147
another, and the varieties may be found feeding on the same tree. How,
then, can the food have anything to do with the variation? Lacles
imperialis is single brooded with us, but still the larva is found in August
as well as in October, and no difference in color is observable at one time
more than another. Ina previous number I related an experiment made
with a brood of zerialis, and, in that case, every one of the larvae were
dark.
The chemistry of biology is doubtless a very abstruse subject, but it is
well worth any labor that may be bestowed on its investigation. The
larva of A. luna feeding, say, on Sweet Gum, produces an insect of a
beautiful green color. That of Zacles imperialis, feeding on the same
food, produces an insect of which yellow and purple are the predominant
colors, while that of vegalis produces an imago yellow and red. Here are
larvae all similarly constituted as regards masticatory and digestive
powers, and the substance acted upon is the same in each case, and yet
how different is the result. This is very wonderful. What is there in the
constitution of the digestive organs of these respective larvae that enables
one to eliminate this color, and another that ? Of course similar results
may be observed in other animals, and the same beefsteak may contribute
to the growth of a negro as well as of a white man, but still this does not
diminish the difficulty we have in understanding how it is done. Ento-
mology is a fascinating pursuit, looked at as merely an amusement, but I
have an abiding faith that it is destined to throw more light on the
phenomena of life than perhaps any other branch of science can. But
we must avoid hasty conclusions.
I have selected only one instance from Mr. Gentry’s paper, but there
are others. For example, the same objections may be made in the case
of Sphinx 5-maculata as are made in that of zmperialis. The different
colors appear at the same season, and may be found feeding on the same
tomato plant.
ON THE LARVA OF CATOCALA ULTRONIA, Husy.
BY THE EDITOR.
For several years past, while jarring our plum trees for Curculio in
June, we have taken the larva of a Catocala usually less than half grown,
but have never succeeded in rearing any of them until this season, when
148 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
from three larvee taken on the 16th of June, one has been successfully
brought through its various stages, and proves to be w/fronia.
The following description was taken at the time of its capture, when
it was nearly full grown.
Length 1-60 inches, onisciform.
Head medium sized, flattened in front, slightly bilobed, dull bluish
grey, with the front flattened portion margined with a purplish-black
stripe. Under a lens the surface appears thickly dotted with pale and
dark colored dots and streaks, with a few short, pale, scattered hairs.
Body above dark dull grayish brown, appearing under a magnifying
power thickly studded with brownish dots ona paler ground. Second
segment a little paler than the others. A sub-dorsal row of dull reddish
tubercles, one on each segment from second to fourth inclusive, but
behind this there are two on each ring to the twelfth segment inclusive,
the anterior one being the smallest, while the posterior and largest tubercle
is more decidedly red, all encircled with a slight ring of black at their
base. On the ninth segment above there is a prominent, nearly upright
stout, fleshy horn, about one-twelfth of an inch long, pointed and similar
in color to the body, but with an irregular grayish patch at each side. On
the twelfth segment the two hinder tubercles are somewhat increased in
size and united by a low ridge, tinted behind with deep reddish brown ;
there is also an oblique stripe of the same color extending forward from
the base of the tubercles to near the spiracle on this segment. The
terminal segment is flattened and has a number of small pale reddish and
blackish tubercles scattered over its surface. In front of each of the
smaller sub-dorsal tubercles, from fifth to twelfth segments inclusive, there
isa dull white dot, and one also of a similar character in front of each of
the spiracles along the middle segments of the body ; from each of the
tubercles throughout there arises a single dark short hair. Spiracles
large, oval, dull grayish, faintly encircled with black. Along the sides
of the body, close to the under surface, is a thick fringe of short, fleshy
looking hairs of a delicate pink color.
The under surface is also of a delicate pink, of a deeper shade
along the middle, becoming bluish towards the margins, with a central row
of nearly round, velvetty black spots, which are largest from the seventh
to the eleventh segments, inclusive. The anterior segments are greenish
white, tinted with rosy pink along the middle, with a dull reddish spot at
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 149
tthe base and behind each pair of feet. Feet pale greenish, spotted out-
side and tipped with black; prolegs dull greyish brown, margined with
black.
This larva became a pupa on the 21st of June, and remained in this
-state for twenty-four days, producing the imago on the 15th of July.
MICRO - LESIDOPTERA.
—————
BY V. T. CHAMBERS, COVINGTON, KENTUCKY.
(Continued from page 130.)
ASPIDISCA.
For the purpose of comparing it with the other species, I quote here
Dr. Clemens’ description of
_ A. splendoriferella.
“ Head golden; antenne fuscous, tinged with golden. Fore wings
from the base to the middle leaden grey, with a splendant lustre, and
from the middle to the tip golden, with a broad, nearly straight, metallic,
silvery streak, extending from the costa, near the tip, to the middle of the
wing, and dark margined on both sides. This is nearly joined by a dorsal
streak of the same hue, almost opposite to it, with converging dark
margins, and with a blotch of dark brown scales adjoining it behind. In
the costo-apical cilia is a short, blackish brown streak, parallel to the
dark margin of the silvery costal streak. At the tip is a black, apical
spot, with metallic, silvery scales in its centre, and a few silvery scales in
the ciliae above and beneath it. <A blackish brown hinder marginal line
in the ciliae, interrupted by a silvery streak in the ciliae beneath the
apical spot, and the ciliae yellowish brown. Hind wings leaden gray, and
the ciliae yellowish brown.”
There is a straight black streak in the ciliae, from the apical spot to
the apex, not mentioned by Dr. Clemens.
150 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Alar ex, 2 lines or less. I have made some other observations on it.
in its various stages, vol. 3, ante p. 223. As there stated, it mines the
leaves not only of the Apple, in which Dr. Clemens found it, but also
those of the Haw (Crategus), Pear (Pyrus), Wild Cherry (Prunus
serotina), and since then I have found it mining the leaves of the Quince
(Cydonia). All of these trees (except, perhaps, the Wild Cherry) are so
nearly related that it is not surprising to find in the leaves of any one of
them any larva which mines the leaves of another, and the Wild Cherry
is such a favorite food with the larve of Lepidoptera, that it is not
surprising to find any larva feeding on it which is not exclusively attached
to some single species. Thus an Oruix, which mines Apple leaves, also
mines those of the Wild Cherry. TZischeria malifoliella Clem., and
Lithocolletis crategela also both mine the leaves of all the above named.
trees except, perhaps, the Peat and the Quince. The fact titania
splendoriferclla mines the leaves of the trees named, affords no presumption
then that it is a general feeder, or that it mines the leaves of any tree
not closely allied to the Haw.
I make these suggestions because Mr, Stainton, in the preface to his
very valuable addition of the writings of Dr. Clemens (for publishing
which he has the hearty thanks of every student of the American Micros),
states that he has bred from Aspen leaves, from Oregon, a species which
it would be very hard to distinguish from A. splendoriferella. But because
of the difference in the food plants, Mr. Stainton (rightly, I think)
considers it a different species. If the vignette upon the title page of
Mr. Stainton’s edition, above named, is, as I suppose, intended to
represent the mined Aspen leaf, I think it establishes the specific character
of the Aspen species. The hole left in the Aspen (judging from the
vignette) is very nearly an ellipse. That made by A. splendoriferella is
much wider in proportion to its length, being nearly as wide as long, and
the case is almost angulated at the sides. The mines of the Micro-
Lepidoptera, and the larval cases of the case-bearing species, and the
modes of pupation, and forms and colors of their cocoons and pupa cases,
have specific characters as distinct as the galls made by the Cyzzpide.
The color of a pupa case, cut from a leaf, depends, for instance, not only
on that of the leaf, but of the silk with which it is lined and the color of
the enclosed larva and pupa. But I have never been able to detect a
difference between the pupa cases of A. sflendoriferella from any of the
leaves mined by it, as above stated. See remarks under the next.
species.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 15!
A. juglandiella. WN. sp.
Except that it is perhaps a trifle smaller, I can not distinguish this.
species in the imago from 4. sflendoriferella. Nevertheless, I consider it
a distinct species. The pupa case is oblong oval, much narrower in
proportion to its length, and smaller in every way than that of A. sflen-
doriferella, besides being more pointed at the end by which it is attached.
Besides, although splendoriferella is much the most common species (at
least 1000 mines of splendoriferella being found to a single one of jugan-
diella), yet I have never met with a mine of the former earlier than the
latter part of July, whilst the mines of the latter are as abnndant, or
nearly so, in the latter part of May as at any time. ‘The first mines of
jJuglanaiella that I discovered were in the leaves of a small Walnut tree,
which stands under a large Wild Cherry tree. It was early in June. I
found several mines, but they were not by any means abundant. Nota
mine could I find on the Wild Cherry, either at that time or for two
months afterwards. uglandiella continued to mine the leaves of the
Walnut throughout the. season, but never became abundant. But from
the latter part of July, on through the season,the mines of splendoriferella
were abundant, not only in the leaves of that particular Wild Cherry tree,
but in those of all the species mined by it, and by October the leaves
were riddled with the holes left by cutting out the cases. The pupa case
of Splendoriferella is much larger than that of jug/andiella, though there is
no appreciable difference in the size of the insects. The former is dark yel-
lowish, while the latter is brown. I have taken the latter species mining
Walnut leaves at a great distance from any Wild Cherry trees, as well as
close to them. (See also the remarks under A. splendorifere.va.)
A, saliciella. WN. sp.
Silvery. Antenne faintly tinged with fuscous. ‘There is a triangular
white costal spot before the ciliz, and an opposite dorsal one, each dark
margined before and behind ; ¢he space between these two streaks and behind
them to the apical spot is silvery. There is a golden yellow patch on the
end of the disc immediately before the space, between the two streaks
above mentioned (the costal and dorsal white streaks). Another golden
yellow patch behind the costal streak, on the margin, with a very indistinct
and small black costal streak in it; another golden yellow patch on the
dorsal margin, behind the dorsal streak, and behind it is.a blackish patch
covering the base of the dorsal cilia. Apical spot black, and adjoining it
T5S THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
behind is a fan-shaped dark brown patch at the base of the apical cilia.
Ciliz silvery, avd not containing a black streak from the apical spot to the
apex.
The italics above indicate the differences between it and A. splendort-
ferella, and besides, it is much smaller than either that species or A. e/a,
having an a/ar ex. of less than 4% of an inch, and thus smaller than
Nepticila microtheriella, which, Mr. Stainton says, is the smallest hereto-
fore known Lepidopteron. Besides, the antennz are not so distinctly
fuscous as in splendoriferella, and the golden portions of the wing are not
so deep or reddish golden as in that species. It resembles that species
more closely than either A. e/a or A. lucifluella. The pupa case is
oblong ovate, brownish, not so much pointed at the anterior end as that
of A. juglandiella, and is a little smaller.
Dr. Clemens found a mine and larva in the leaves of the White Willow
(Salix alba), which he called A. salictella, but he was not acquainted —
with the imago. I have not met with that mine, my species having been
bred from the Weeping Willow. But as I have no doubt that it is the
‘same species, I have adopted his name.
A; tila. Ante, 9\p. 2a
In the description of this species I have used the word ‘‘before” where
I should have written ‘ behind,” as to the location of the costal streaks ;
and the whole description is so unsatisfactory that L[ wish to redescribe
it. It is, however, difficult to get a good description of a species which
does not present the same appearance in any two views of it.
Head, palpi, thorax and basal half of the primaries pale grayish
silvery. Antenne fuscous above, silvery beneath. Apical half of the
primaries black along the dorsal margin, the black spreading over the
middle of the apical portion of the wing to the golden yellow costal part
of the apical half of the wing. This golden yellow costal portion
extends along the entire costo-apical margin, and along the middle of the
apical portion of the wing it passes gradually into, or blends with, the
blackish dorsal portion. (Perhaps a more correct description would be:
apical half of the wing golden along the costal half, blackish along the -
dorsal half, the two colors meeting and blending with each other in the
middle, and the black passing into the base of the dorsal cilia.) In some
lights the golden is strongly tinged with red, and the black becomes a
deep golden brown. J» the black dorsal portion, behind the middle of the
dorsal margin, is a triangular silvery streak ; and opposite to it, 2 the
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 153:
golden costal portion, is another, the two almost meeting so as to form a
fascia, and both dark margined on both sides ;_ behind the costal streak,
at the end of the golden portion and before the apex, is another small
costal silvery streak, which is distinctly dark margined before by a straight
line, and faintly behind by an oblique one. Apical spot black, and
behind and adjoining it is a fan-shaped, dark brown spot, behind which
is a straight dark brown streak in the ciliz, extending to the apex. The
apical spot is margined before and on each side with brilliant, metallic,
silvery scales, as in splendoriferella.
Al. ex. 2 lines or less. Same as in sflendoriferella, but this species is
slenderer than that. The first costal and the dorsal streaks are as in that
species, but there is much less golden in the apical half of the wing, and
much more blackish or dark brown. ‘The apical spot aud adjoining fan-
shaped patch and apical streak are as in splendoriferella, but in splendori-
Jerella there is but one costal streak. It is, in fact, less like splendoriferella
than any of the other species. The pupa case is nearly an ellipse, slightly
oval, golden yellow, marked with small brown dots.
I was at first in doubt whether this might not be Clemens’ J. luciffuella,
which mines Hickory leaves. But I cannot reconcile it to the require-
ments of his description, which says that (wczféwella is larger than
splendortfereila, and has three costal streaks. I have met with the larva of
lucifluella, but have not succeeded in raising it. Dr. Clemens met with
another mine in the leaves of the Hornbean, which he called A. astryae-
foliella, but the maker of the mine is still unknown. Possibly it may
prove to be this species.
[Since the foregoing remarks were written, I have observed that the
microscopic hairs (vegetable) on the surface of the case of A. ella are
identical with those on the under surface of Hickory leaves, and this
tends to the conclusion that this is Clemens’ /uc7fuella; but other leaves
may have similar hairs. The fact that I can not recognise it in Dr.
Clemens’ description is by no means conclusive, for my own first descrip-
tion is certainly defective, and the shades of coloring vary so with the
play of the light, that it is a very difficult species to describe satisfactorily. }
Errata.—Ante p. 128, under C. gigantella, in line 5 of the description,
for “ these” read ‘‘three;” p. 129, for fagi-costicella read fagi-corticella.
154 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
PRELIMINARY CATALOGUE OF THE NOCTUIDA OF
CALIFORNIA.
BY AUG. R. GROTE,
Curator of Articulata, Buffalo Soc. of Natural Sciences.
rt. Bombycia improvisa (Hy. Edw.,) Proc. Ac. N.S., Cal., 5, p. 189.
““ Cascades, W. T.”. Unknown to me and perhaps incorrectly referred to
this group.
2. Pseudothyatira expultrix Grote.
“‘ Cariboo, B. C.,” Hy. Edw., 1. c. Unknown to mé from the West
Coast.
3. Habrosyne scripta (Gosse.)
Alaska’ (2?) Hy. Edw.jl c. Sitka, No. -13 7. bky. isle
4. <Acronyca lupini Behr, Bull. Bult. Soc. N:S., 1, p. 79:
One specimen.
5. Acronycta lepusculina Guenee, Bull. Buff. Soc. N. S., 1, p. 130.
A fresh specimen sent by Mr. Behrens gives me some reason to doubt
this determination and to suspect a distinct species, allied to A. /eporina
and A. lepusculina, in California. The fore wings are narrower, the
markings more obliterate above. A different material from that now
accessible to me is needed to make any change in this determination or to
confirm it with positiveness.
6. Acronycta perdita Grote.
t= Nearest resembling A. xy/iniformis of any of our Eastern species,
but larger, more robust, and with the fore wings even darker. There is
an absence of any softer shadings before and behind the transverse
posterior line. All the markings are coarser. The terniinal series of
black interspaceal mirks are large and heavy. The transverse posterior
line has the outer dentations more uneven ; the teeth on veins 4 and 6
are notably longer; the line itself seems hardly so near the terminal
margin as in xyliniformis. The black shade streak at anal angle is heavier
and the dash on the median space is different in position, more incon-
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 155
‘spicuous and near the t. a. line. ‘The median shade is less prominent and
‘the t. a. line more distinct and widely geminate. Hind wings white, like
xyliniformis, but the fringe is merely black dotted,not cut with black as in
the Eastern species. The palpi exceed the front more prominently than
in A. xyliniformis. Exp.4om.m. ‘ June 5th,’ Mr. Behrens.
7. Feralia februalis Grote. List of the Noct. of N. Am., p. 60.
“ Sanzalito,” Mr. Behrens, “ February 12th.”
8. Agrotis saucia (Hubner), Bull. Buff. Soc. N.S., 1, p. 135.
“‘OQakland,” No. 15, Mr. Behrens.
g. Agrotis fennica (Tauscher.)
“ Kodiak,” No. 13, Mr. Behrens. A single ¢, which agrees with
Herrich-Schaeffer’s figure 146, except that the hind wings are very pale
-and whitish.
ro. Asgrotis lycarum Herrich-Sch., figs. 122-124.
No. 1392, Mr. Hy. Edwards; No. 31, Mr. Behrens. This species,
which seems to be very common in California, I have determined with
hesitation. I cannot discover, however, any difference of importance
between Herrich-Schaeffer’s figures, above cited, and the material before
me.
II. Agrottis Vancouverensis Grote, Bull. Buff. Soc. N. S., 1, p. 134,
plate 4, fig. 4.
‘“‘ Vancouver’s Island,” No. 2624, Mr. Hy. Edwards.
12. Agrotis formalis Grote, List of the Noctuide of N. Am., p. 61.
California, Mr. Behrens.
13. Agrotis Wilsonz Grote, List of the Noct. of N. Am., p. 62.
California, Nos. 12 and 24, Mr. Behrens.
I4. Agrotis specialis Grote, List of the Noct. of N. Am., p. 62.
California, Mr. Behrens.
15. Agrotis fuscigerus Grote.
¢ 2. A species closely resembling 4. §Cochranz, but with notably
darker and more fuscous hind wings in either sex. The primaries are
156 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST,
much darker, more evenly colored, without that mottled appearance which:
has induced Mr. Riley’s comparison of Cochrant with chenopodiit. The
lines are variably distinct ; when present, the inner component line of the
t. p. line is usually broad. The four specimens (gf f 2 2) sent by Mr,
Behrens under the No. 25, and as taken Sept. 13th and r4th, expand—
gf 30, 2 35 m.m., and cannot be referred to Cochrant.
16. Agrotis Hollemanit Grote.
A small species with all the tibiz spinose; the fore tibia have two.
rows of strong spines. Antennz pubescent. Fore wings of a dark
bluish grey, with hardly a trace of the usual lines. A strong black
basal stripe ; the cell shaded with black about the discal stigmata, which
are singularly shaped, the orbicular elongate and fusing with the moderate, _,
excavate reniform, so that we are reminded of Ozcocnemis Chandleri. The
terminal space is indicated by interspaceal black streaks. Fringes con-
colorous with internal hair line. Hind wings blackish fuscous, with
whitish fringes divided by a hairline. Beneath whitish, powdered with
fuscous, without lines ; hind wings with a minute discal dot. Head and
thorax like primaries; collar with a dark superior line. xpanse, 30 m..
m., siskiyou Co., Cal., Capt. Holleman. From. Prof, A. S. Packanasge
17... Mamestra cuneata Grote; Bul. Buf. Soc. .N.\5:,/1, p. 130);%platems
fig. 9.
No. 21, Mr. Behrens. ‘“ Mendocino, No. 21. The dot near internal’
angle of fore wings 1s always yellow; in a few specimens, probably
rubbed, it is not noticeable.
18. Mamestra chartaria Grote, Bul. Buf. Soc. N. S., 1, p. 138, plate
Ate: 12.
California, Mr. Behrens.
19. Mamestra niveigutiata Grote, Bul. But. Soc. N.S.) 13paaaes
plate 4, fig. 16.
California, Mr. Hy. Edwards.
20. Mamestra puerilis Grote; List of the Noct. of N. Am., p. 64.
California, Mr. Hy. Edwards and Mr. Behrens.
21. Mamestra cinnabarina Grote, Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H., 16, p. 241.
California, Mr. Hy. Edwards and Mr. Behrens. Several specimens.
show a range of variation in the extent of the brown and uid eee tint on
the primaries above.
Or
“J
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. bd:
22. Mamestra laudabilis (Guen.)
California, Mr. Hy. Edwards.
23. Mamestra g-lincata Grote, Bul. Buf. Soc. N.S., 1, p. 140, plate
4. fig. 15 and List, p. 13.
California, Mr. Hy. Edwards and Mr. Behrens.
24. Dianthecia leucogramma Grote, List. p. 64.
California, Mr. Hy. Edwards and Mr. Behrens.
25. Dianthecta rufula Grote, List of the Noct. of N. Am., p. 64.
California, Mr. Behrens. ‘‘ Oakland, No. 22.”
26. Dianthecia insolens Grote, List of the Noct. of N. Am., p. 65.
California, Mr. Behrens.
27. Oncocnemis Behrensi Grote, List of the Noct. of N. Am., p. 65.
California, Mr. Behrens. “ Sanzalito, Feb. roth to 24th.”
(To be Continued.)
CORRESPONDENCE.
GRAPTA COMMA AND DRYAS.
DEAR SIR,—
I am able to give you the results of an experiment made with Grapte
comma, the converse of that made in 1873 with dryas. On the roth of
May last I took a female, true comma—tred hind wings and plain brown
underside—and tied it up to a branch of Hop-vine, which branch was
free from eggs of any sort. She laid in the bag some forty eggs, and I
had from them thirty-nine caterpillars. Most of them in due time
reached the chrysalis state, and between the roth and 15th of June there
emerged thirty-four butterflles—every one a dryas. In the fall of 1873,
from eggs of dryas, there resulted a large number of comma and six dryas,
as stated in the Enromococisr for October. I think this fully settles the
question of the dimorphism of the species.
Yours truly,
W. H. Epwarps, Coalburgh, W. Va.
158 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES,
DEAR SIR,—
I send you the following items, hoping they may prove of interest:
CLISIOCAMPA SYLVATICA.—The caterpillars of this pest are swarming
on almost every description of tree or shrub in the vicinity of this city,
many trees being completely denuded of foliage. C. Americana is also
common on apple trees.
LACHNOSTERNA QUERCINA. — This insect, though usually very
abundant, has been quite scarce this season; I have not seen more than
a dozen specimens.
DEPRAVED TASTE OF P. TURNUS.—One day early in Junea P. durnus
which I was pursuing hovered over and alighted upon some cow drop-
pings, thrust out its tongue, and settled itself quietly to its disgusting
repast. While in this position it was easily captured.
On the 27th of July, last year, it rained very heavily during the
evening in the vicinity of Portland, where I was spending the summer ;
but the night seemed very favorable for moths, a large number entering
the house, among them a fine specimen of Pihilampelus satellitia, two of
Arctia virgo, and one of Arctia rubricosa, besides a number of others
with the names of which I am not acquainted.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EGG OF GASTROPACHA AMERICANA.—The eggs
of this moth are very pretty, being white with peculiar black markings.
They were laid June 27th, by a female reared in confinement. Length
.06 of an inch ; width, .045. Form oval, flattened at the base and also
above, but a little thicker at one end than at the other. At each end
there is a semi-circular stripe and dot, closely resembling the crescent and
star of the Turkish arms, and these markings are larger and more distinct
on the larger end. On both the flattened surfaces there are markings
like eyes, each formed by an oval spot in the centre, with a curved stripe
above and a shorter straight one below, of which the latter is widened
towards the extremities. Between and parallel to the two eye-brow-like
marks there is another black stripe which is widest at the larger end of
the egg,and tapers towards the other. Over the whole surface there is a
minute indented reticulation, the meshes of which are irregular in form,
with a depressed dot in the centre of each.
H. H. Lyman, Montreal, P. Q.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 159
DEAR SIR,—
A few days ago I went to a swamp where P/e/on feeds in early spring,
and discovered several of the webs-of that species spun over the stems
of Chelone glabra and whatever other plants were contiguous. Within
the webs were larvae about 4 inch long,and as during the last few days,
since I have had a number of them in the house, there is no appearance
-of feeding by the larvae, I presume they are quiet for the season and
‘till next March. Seeing a good many P#yciodes marcia flying in the
‘swamp, it occurred to me to try a female with a stem of Chelone glabra,
and I did so with satisfactory results, as three days after I enclosed her
in a bag, she laid about 75 eggs on the under side of one of the leaves.
I hope I have at last found the food plant of this species, after having
tried a score of plants to no purpose.
W. H. Epwarps.
EDITORIAE SUMMARY.
PALEONTOLOGY OF ONTARIO.—We are much pleased to observe that
the Legislature of this Province is extending its liberality in the cause of
Science to other departments, besides those somewhat utilitarian branches
of Entomology and Horticulture, as is eminently manifest from the
excellent Report before us on the Paleontology of Ontario. It has been
prepared by Prof. H. Alleyne Nicholson, of the University of ‘Toronto,
and contains descriptions and figures of the organic remains of the
Devonian Formation of Western Canada. No less than one hundred
and sixty species of fossils are described, and illustrated by means of
nearly sixty wood-cuts in the text, and eight splendid lithographic plates.
It is noteworthy, also, that all the figures are original, except two of the
wood cuts. We trust that the Legislature will long continue its assistance
to this excellent work, and that Prof. Nicholson may be enabled tc carry
out a complete investigation of the Paleontology of all the fossiliferous
geological formations in this country.
AMONG the “ old country ” publications that we have lately received,
we may mention the 15th number of the Scottish Naturalist (Dr. F. B.
White, Perth.) We gather from its pages that a goodly number of Field
Clubs are being organized in Scotland, and that much satisfactory work
a
160 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
is anticipated from them. Cannot something of the kind be re-inaugurated"
here with a fair promise of success >—————Vatwye continues to be as.
well filled as ever with most interesting and instructive matter; recent
numbers have contained seasonable articles upon the Comet and the
Transit of Venus, and a series of illustrated papers upon the observatories:
of the United States —————European potato growers are beginning to-
become alarmed at the prospect of a speedy invasion of their fields by
the devastating Colorado Beetle. As it has now very nearly reached the-
Atlantic seaboard, we have little doubt that in another year: or two it
will succeed in crossing the ocean and striking terror into the hearts of ©
all patriotic Irishmen. Mr. Newman, in a recent number of his “ Ento--
mologist,” while he confuses the sweet potato with the «ordinary potato,.
and the insects that prey upon these very different plants, expresses his
disbelief in the prospect of trouble from any of our American pests. He-
goes on, however, to quote all the remedies against the Colorado beetle:
contained in the Report of our Society—without acknowledgement !
WE REGRET to announce the death of Mr. Geo. R.. Crotch, M. A.. of”
St. John’s College, Cambridge, who sailed from England to America in
1872 for the purpose of studying the Entomology of parts which he
considered incompletely known. He made collections, especially of
Coleoptera, in California, Vancouver’s Island, Oregon and other Districts.
So much were his labors valued in England that his University on two
occasions voted him asum of money to aid him in the formation of
collections for the Museum at Cambridge.
—_——_
THE 23RD Meeting of the American Association is to take place this
month at Hartford, Conn., beginning on August 12th. Dr. LeConte is
the President elect. As an invitation was extended at the Portland
meeting to the members of the Entomological Society of Canada to be
present on this occasion, We trust that many of our friends will make a
point of attending; there will no doubt be a large attendance of insect
hunters from all parts of the continent.
THE 44TH Meeting of the British Association is to be held at Belfast,
under the Presidency of Prof. Tyndall. It is to commence a week later
than that at Hartford.
Coy. Sat
x
Che Canadwn Entomologist,
Wot. VI. LONDON, ONT., SEPTEMBER, 1874. No. 9
— — — —_ — eS
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION.
At the recent gathering of this scientific body, in Hartford, Conn...
there were brought together an unusual number of Entomologists. This
was owing partly, no doubt, to the kind invitation extended by the
Association to the American and Canadian Entomological Societies, to
appoint special meetings of their members to be held at that time and
place, with the view of having these important Societies fully represented.
In response to this invitation, a number of members of the American
Entomological Society were present, while our Canadian Entomologists
were represented by the worthy President of our Society, Rev. C. J. S.
Bethune, M. A., and the Editor of the ENromoLocist. Several evenings
were occupied by these “ brethren of the net” in interesting and profit-
able discussions on the habits and peculiarities of various insects, the
time passing so pleasantly that the midnight hours were reached ere a
separation could be effected. After mature deliberation it was resolved
to organize under the name of ‘The Entomological Club of the A. A-
A. S,” and the following constitution was adopted :
TITLE.
I. The name of the association shall be “ The Entomological Club
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.”
OBJECTS.
II. The annual reunion of the Entomologists of America, the
advancement of entomology, and the consideration of all general questions
relating to the science that may from time to time arise.
MEMBERSHIP.
IIIf. All members of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science who are interested in Entomology, shall spse facto be members
-of the club.
a
162 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
OFFICERS.
IV. The officers of the club shall be a President, a Vice-President,and
a Secretary, to be elected annually by vote of the members.
DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS.
V. The President, or in his absence,the Vice-President, shall preside
at all meetings ; the Secretary shall perform all the usual duties of a
recording and corresponding secretary.
MEETINGS.
VI. A meeting shall be held in each year at the place of meeting
appointed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science ;
it shall commence at 2:30 p. m.on the day before the meeting of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, and be continued
throughout that evening ; further meetings may be held as time will permit
during the week following.
The following resolutions were also unanimously passed :
Resolved, That the members of the American Entomological Society
and the Entomological Society of Ontario, together with all other persons
interested in entomological science, be cordially invited to attend and take
part in the proceedings.
Resolved, That the secretary be requested to publish notices of the
meeting in such periodicals devoted to natural history, and especially in
those devoted to entomology as are published on the continent; and
further, that the members be requested to bring with them at the annual
reunions specimens for exchange and exhibition, and especially types of
species that they may have described during the year.
Ata subsequent meeting of the Club, the following officers were
elected: President, Dr. John L. LeConte, Philadelphia, Pa.; Vice Presi-
dent, Samuel H. Scudder, Cambridge, Mass.; Secretary, Chas. V. Riley,
St. Louis, Mo. We feel sure that under such able direction, the Entomo-
logical Club of the A. A. A. S. will prosper, and be the means ef stimulating
many to increased effort, and thus greatly advance the interests of our
favorite study.
As it may interest many to know who werc present at these meetings,
we furnish the following list: Dr. John L. LeConte, Philadelphia, Pa.;
Dr. J. G. Morris, Baltimore, Md.; Prof. S. S. Haldeman, Chickis, Pa. ;
Dr. H. A. Hagen, Cambridge, Mass.; S. H. Scudder, Cambridge, Mass. ;
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 163
$e
A. R. Grote, Buffalo, N. Y.; Dr. G. M. Levette, Indianapolis, Ind.; C. V.
Riley, St. Louis, Mo.; O. S. Westcott, Chicago, IIl.; J. A. Lintner, Albany,
N. Y.; H.F. Bassett, Waterbury, Conn. ; George Dimmock, Springfield,
Mass.; B. Pickman Mann, Cambridge, Mass.; E. P. Austin, Cambridge,
Mass.; Dr. R. King, Kalamazoo, Mich.; Chas. P. Dodge, Washington,
D. C.; Mr. Patton, Waterbury, Conn.; Rev. C. J.S. Bethune, M. A., Port
Hope, Ont.; W. Saunders, London, Ont. During the meetings of the
Association several interesting and valuable papers on Entomological
subjects were read by Dr. LeConte and Messrs. Scudder, Riley and Grote.
‘THE LINNEAN SIGNIFICATION OF THE GENERIC TERM
PAPIEAO.
BY H. HAGEN, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
In a recent issue of the CANADIAN ENTomoLocisr, No. viii, Vol. vi,
there appears from the pen of Mr. Scudder a paper on “The Linnean
Signification of the Generic Term Papilio,’ containing some statements
on which I propose to offer a few remarks.
The data given by Scudder from Linné’s works are—save some minor
typographical errors—correct, excepting in two important points. On p.
144 he says “in the year 1846 the first edition of the Fauna Suecica was
published, zz zich Linne for the first time treats of spectes, giving to them
names in the language of the country.” (The italics are mine.)
In the first place, Linné did never give either to animals or insects names
in the language of his country. This is important in view of Mr. Scudder’s
proposition in “‘Psyche” to give such names for the convenience of non-
entomologists. The names quoted by Scudder, viz., morio, polychloros, &c.,
are never given by Linnéas xames of the species, but just at the end of the
synonyms, quoted as synonyms, always in this form, vuz/go morio. These
names were ever invented by Linné, but were used by former naturalists ;
some are to be found in Petiver’s Museum, viz., Oculus pavonis (not
Oculis), Bella Donna, Ammiralis (the Admiral) Argus, in Rajus Hist.
Ins. and in Albin. Engl. Insects, Brassicaria. Urticaria, etc.—the others in
different other authors. Even Linné used some of them before, in his
Elenchus, viz., Bella Donna, Oculus pavonis, and always in this manner:
*
164 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Bella Donna dictus, Oculus pavonis dictus, showing clearly that the names
were not given by himself. Such names as are quoted with vz/go are not
numerous, although in much larger proportion in Lepidoptera than in any
other order. I find 25 such among 37 Papilio, and 14 Phalenz only
among the 114! described; in other orders the proportion is much less.
There is not in the whole Fauna Suecica one name given by Linne. In
the rare cases where Linne quotes Swedish names he has never given
these himself, but quoted them as synonyms, as in Phal. mori.
Vulgo Bombyx.
Suecis Silkesmask.
In the end of the last and in the beginning of the present century there
was a general tendency to give to every insect a name in the language of
the country in which it was found. In this work labored Donovan for
England, Fourcroy @hd Geoffroy for France, Sepp for Holland, Isert for
Sweden, Bruennich for Denmark, Panzer and Sturm for Germany; but
very soon it was seen that this business was a difficult one, often the names
were not appropriate, some were foolish, and others even ridiculous,
while it was apparent to all that such names, instead of being a benefit to
science, were only a burden, and soon the matter was dropped entirely.
Even in the case of injurious insects it is seldom necessary to invent
common names, for where species are really destructive the people almost
always have a name for such just at hand.
With regard to the second point in the paragraph quoted, Linne treats
-of species first ina paper published in 1736,in Acta literaria et Scientiarum.
Suecice Upsala, ‘I. iv, p. 97-138, Animalia per Sueciam observata. This
paper is reprinted Lugduni Batav. 1743 1n 8vo., Avenchus animalium per
Sueciam observatorum, p. 37-94. anne himself quotes this paper later
always “ Acta Upsal, 1736,” and states in the preface of Fauna Suecica,
Ist edition, “‘ quum ad patriam Academiam Upsaliensem 1729 degerem,
conquirendis insectis primam dedi operam,nec prius destiti, quam visendz
mihi essent 1735 aestiva regiones. Eorum que reperi, catalogum a me
exhibitum. Regia Scient. Soc. Upsal. actis suis pro anno 173
inseruit.’”*
ES = . ee nn
* When I studied in 1729 at my native Academy of Upsala, I collected chiefly
insects, nor did I desist until I started to visit other countries in 1735. Of those
which I found, the Royal Scientific Society of Upsala published in their proceedings
for the year 1736 a catalogue prepared by me.
ne
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 165
STD
The Elenchus (just as the first edition of the Fauna Suecica) has xo
names of the species (1 say purposely so, as Linne called NOMINA
TRIVIALIA what to-day is called sPECIES NAME, and Linne called NOMEN
-SPECIFICUM what to-day is called p1AGNosIs) but always a diagnosis, and
where it was possible, quotations of former authors, viz., Petiver Museum
-and Gazophylacium, Rajus, Albin, &c. The species given in the Elenchus
are just as easily recognized as those in the Fauna Suecica, Ed. 1, by
-comparing the quoted authors and the diagnosis. It follows, therefore,
that if the first edition of the Fauna be recognized to have right of
: priority, the Elenchus must be recognized to have the same right.
Now, the genus Papilio is established in Syst. Nat. Ed. 1, 1735. The
-Elenchus /s the first publication with species (1736) after it, and the first
‘Papilio is P. Rhamnt, quoted as Papilio sulphureus Petiv. Mus. 1. Com-
paring Petiver’s words and Linne’s Fauna Suec., Ed. 1, No. 795, the
identity of this Papilio sulphureus with P. Rhamni is sure.
I give here the list of the species of the Elenchus and of the first
-edition of the Fauna Suec., i and ii :
Lilenchus. Faun. Suec., Ed. 1. Ld. it.
tr. Rhamni mas. 1. <Antiopa. rt. Machaon.
2. Rhamni fem. 2. Polychloros. z. Apollo.
3. Brassice. 3.) -Urttece. 3. Mnemosyne.
4. Rape. 4.” €, album. 4. Crategi.
Beni) NepI. 5. dO. 5. Brassice.
6. Crategi. 6. Atalanta. 6. Rape.
7. Apollo. 7. Cardui & foliow 7. Napi & follow
24. Rhamni. 12. Rhamni.
Io. Antiopa. 25,| i Crateegi. 21. Antiopa.
11. Polychloros. 26. Napi. 22. Polychloros.
£2. Urtice: 27. Rape. 23... Drie:
13. C. album. 28. Brassicz. 24. C.album.
14. lo. 31. Apollo. 25. Atalanta.
Follow ; Linne first (1736) places P. Rhamni at the head of the genus
Papilio ; second, 1746-48 (the later editions until 1756 are only reprints)
P. antiopa at the head, and third, 1758, and following, the swallow-tails
-at the head, beginning with P. priamus in Ed. x, Syst. Nat., and with P.
machaon in Ed. 4, Fauna Suecica.
In the Fundamenta Entomologiz, 1767, 4to p. 32, Linne speaks
.about the division of Papilio into five classes, devoting more than a page
166 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
to this subject, and says strictly that his Zguztes form the first class,.
Heliconii the second, Danaiz the third, Vymphales the fourth, Plebert the
fifth.
The closing lines in Mr. Scudder’s paper should therefore be amended!
so as to read thus: “In Linne’s mind which was a typical Papilio—
Rhamni, or Antiopa, or Machaon? ‘The answer is simply that
Linne in his study arrived at the conclusion that the first class of his:
Papilio should be formed by the Equites. I would remark, however, that
Linne wever speaks, as far as I know, of any particular species being the
type of its class, and this idea that his first species is the type is of very
recent date.
The fact that so few Entomologists have the opportunity of consulting,
Linne’s older works, induced me to publish these statements.
MICRO - LEPIDOPTERA.
BY V. T. CHAMBERS, COVINGTON, KENTUCKY.
(Continued from page 153.)
ANTISPILA.
A. cornifoliclla ? Clem.
Can there be two Antispila miners of the Dog-wood? Either there:
must be, and my specimens are specifically distinct from this species, or’
Dr. Clemens’ description is strangely erroneous in at least one particular, .
viz., the color of the fascia and streaks, which he says are golden in
cornifoliella, but which are silvery white in my specimens, all of which—
six in uumber—agree exactly in ornamentation, and all but one of which:
are bred specimens. ‘The species of the genus generally resemble each :
other very closely, and some recognized species do not differ from each:
other more than my specimens do from Dr. Clemens’ description. Neither’
is it improbable that two species mine the leaves of the Dogwood, for the
same thing occurs in Europe, where A. Pfeifferella and A. Trettschkiella’
both mine the leaves of Cornus sanguinea. A. cornifoliella and my
specimens both mine the leaves of Cornus florida. 1 subjoin Dr..
vt
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 167
Clemens’ description for the purpose of comparison with my own
specimens :
“ Head, face, labial palpi and fore feet dark brown. Antennae dark
brown ; basal joint somewhat ochreous. Forewings rather dull dark
brown, with a coppery hue. Near the base is a rather narrow, golden
band, ot constricted on the fold, and rather indistinct toward the costa.
where it is somewhat suffused with a coppery hue, and nearest the base
on the inner margin. At the apical third of the wing is a small golden
spot, and nearly opposite, on the inner margin, another of the same hue,
with the hinder portion of the wing tinged with a bright reddish coppery
hue ; ciliae dark grayish. Hind wings purplish brown ; ciliae somewhat
paler, with a coppery hue.”
The italics are Dr. Clemens’. The following description is drawn
from the six bred specimens above mentioned :
Head and face dark brown or brilhant metallic, according to the light >
labial palpi yellowish white; tarsi all yellowish white, with each joint
tipped with dark brown on its anterior margin. Antennae dark brown,
with the two or three joints nearest the base ochreous, and ¢he extreme tip
white. Fore wings and thorax dark brown, blackish, bronzed or tinged
with purple, according to the light; before the middle of the wing is a
slightly curved fascia, which is widest and nearest to the base on the
dorsal margin, wot constricted on the fold, but quite distinct throughout. A
costal and dorsal streak just before the ciliae, the costal streak a little
behind the dorsal one. In fresh specimens this fascia and these streaks
are silvery white ; in old specimens they have a faint golden hue in some
lights. (Clemens describes them as golden.) Sasal half of the cle
purplish ; apical half grayish silvery. Al. ex. scarcely ¥4 inch.
Dr. Clemens suggests that corntfolicdla may be a variety of his Wyse
foliella. 1 have never succeeded in breeding the latter species.
-A. tsabella, Clem.
I find nearly the same differences between my specimens (bred) of
this and Dr. Clemens’ description, that I have noted above as to corni-
foliella. Dy. Clemens says that the fore wings have no greenish or violet
reflections, which is certainly incorrect. The fascia is wider than in
cornifoliella, the thorax more shining metallic, the purple hinder marginal
line is less distinct, and the entire wing is less purplish, and the species is
a little larger. Nevertheless, they resemble each other very closely. The
168 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST,
‘costal and dorsal spots in both are of nearly equal size, or the costal one
is a little the largest.
A. viticordifolicdla. N. sp?
Dr. Clemens mentions a mine and larva in grape leaves to which he
gives this name, but he was not acquainted with the imago. Though it
sometimes happens that more than one species of a genus mines leaves
of the same plant, and it is therefore possible that the species described
below may not be the same referred to by Clemens, yet from his descrip-
tion of the mine and larva, I feel confident that it is, and have therefore
given it the name suggested by him.
Dark brown, inclining to blue black, with a purplish tinge in some
lights, and in some lights bronzy brown or greenish ; thorax and base of
the wings with pink, purple or topaz red reflections, according to the
light. A nearly straight silvery white fascia before the middle of the
wings, not constricted on the fold, widest on the dorsal margin, where it
is also a little nearer to the base ; a large triangular silvery white dorsal
streak just before the beginning of the ciliae, and a smaller one at the
beginning of the costal ciliae. Ciliae white. ‘Tarsi yellowish white, each
joint tipped in front with dark brown. — Face yellowish white; antennae
dark brown, with about six terminal joints silvery white, and the six
preceding ones alternately white and dark brown. _ It is a little smaller
than A. cornifoliclla. The mine, larva and case are smaller than those of
A. isabella, and the case is elliptical in shape, whilst in corntfoliedla and
zsabella it is nearly circular.
A. ampclopsifolicla. N. sp.
This species is known only in the larval state, unless the species
described, but not named below, may be the same. ‘The mine, larva
and case are very small, smaller than any other known species. It mines
the leaves of Ampelopsis quinguefolia, and the mine is elliptical in out-
line. I find that I have mislaid my notes upon the larva. I have never
succeeded in breeding it.
Can not something be done towards determining the original of some
cultivated plants by a knowledge of the habits of insects which feed upon
them? <A great majority of herbivorous insects are doubtless poly-
phagous, but many are confined to a single group of plants, and some to
a single species. When an insect known to feed only on a single wild
species, if found feeding on an allied cultivated plant, is it not a fair
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 169
«deduction that the cultivated one is derived from the wild stock? — Dr.
_ Clemens states that he bred his species 4. isade//a from the cultivated
grape Isabella, which, if I ain rightly informed, is supposed to be derived
from Vitis labrusca. 1 have bred it from at least a dozen cultivated
varieties, including Catawba, Hartford Prolific and Concord, but I have
also bred it from the wild Vitis cordifolia, so that this instance proves
nothing. But Dr. C. records the larva of A. witicordifoliella from the
leaves of V. cordifolia only, and I have never found its mine in any other
species or variety. Would there not bea presumption—if it should now
be found mining any cultivated variety—that that variety sprang from the
cordifolia stock ? So Dr. C. records Phyllocnistis vitigeneila from the leaves
of V. cordifolia only, whilst I have found it in the leaves of a great many
cultivated varieties, including those above named, so that it proves no
more than 4. isabella; but P. vitifoliella I have never found elsewhere
than in the leaves of V. cordifoliella, and one or two cultivated vines of
which I find I have kept no memorandum.
Some years ago I bought from the gardener of the late N. Longworth,
of Cincinnatti, a grape vine of a variety but little cultivated, called
‘‘ Longworth’s Seedling, No. 20,” the origin of which the gardener refused
to tell me. The foliage is unlike that of any other grape known to me,
and is still less like that of Ampelopsis guinguefolia, and approaches V.
cordifolia. \.ast summer I found its leaves mined by a larva closely
resembling that of 4. ampelopsifoliella, supra, and which I suspect to be
the same. I have never found itin the leaves of any other plant, though
over a dozen other varieties of grapes grow within a few feet of the
Longworth vine. From it I bred the species described below, which I do
not now name,as it may prove to be identical with 4.ampelopsifoliella. The
single specimen was a little injured, and the description is therefore in
one or two respects imperfect.
Palpi pale yellowish ? Head and face bright but pale golden, in some
lights silvery, tinged with golden. Antennae brown, /fainé/y annulate
with whitish. Thorax and primaries rich purplish brown, in some lights
strongly purple or bronzed ; before the middle of the primaries is a some-
what oblique fascia, which is silvery, or bright but pale golden according
to the light, widest and nearer to the base of the wing on the dorsal
margin, and not constricted on the fold; a silvery or pale bright golden
spot on the dorsal margin, just before the ciliae, and a smaller costal one
nearly opposite, avd a spot of the same hue at the apex. Ciliae a little
170 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
paler than the wings, but I can not discover any hinder marginal line.
Al, ex. #3 inch.
»
The larva is white, without maculae, but with the anterior margin of
the first segment brown.
A. hydrangeella. WN. sp.
The mine and larva only of this species is known, and I have never
succeeded in rearing the imago. ‘The mine, larva and case resemble those
of A. viticordifoliella, but are perhaps a little smaller. It mines the leaves-
of the wild Wydrangea (H. nivea.)
Dr. Clemens states that the species described by him mine the leaves:
of the various plants in the latter part of August and in September, from
which I infer that he found them only at that time. But the mines of ali’
the species may be found as early as the first of July, and in increasing”
numbers from that time until the fall of the leaves. I have reared JA.
corntfoliella in the latter part of July, from leaves gathered in‘that month,
and have found the mines and larvae of all the other species, though I
have only succeeded in rearing the other species in the spring from mines.
gathered in the fall.
NOTES; ON- THELIST? OF 1866.
BY AUG. R. GROTE,
Curator of Articulata, Buffalo Soc. of Natural Sciences.
Preparatory to a fresh edition of the ‘‘ List of Lep.,” of 1868, a few
memoranda of the necessary changes will be published.
Sesia uniformis, p iii. This species is distinct from f¢hysde, and has
been noticed by Mr. Lintner in his valuable “ Entomological Contribu-
tions.” Mr. Couper found it on Anticosti. This can not be Sesza
ruficaudis Kirby, the description of which is given on p. 27 of the
‘¢ Synonymical Catalogue” of 1865. Kirby says: two first segments of
the body yellow olive, two next black, the rest ferruginous with yellow
olive spots. Uwniformis has the first segments yellow olive, the next deep:
ferruginous, the next again olive, and the anal hairs black, with ferruginous:
central tuft. In fact, Kirby’s description rather resembles @fnis in the
body parts. And from his comparison with fuciformis, we should think
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 171
at once of difinis. But the terminal segments in dfinis are not “ ferru-
ginous” any more than in wzformis, and so Kirby may have had a boreal
species we do not yet know before him. From his description there is-
no more correspondence with wzformis than with ¢Aysbe; rather does his-
description agree with /uscitcaudis as to the abdomen terminally. °
Cressonia juglandis, p. iv. To this species must be cited Sm. pallens
of Mr. Strecker, whose figure represents a pale 2 specimen of C.
Juglandis, without the median shade on the forewings. Belfrage has sent
C. juglandts from Texas.
Dysodea || p. vi. ‘This generic name is preoccupied and must give
way to that of Platythyris. Mr. Walker's type of Varnza appears.
distinct. | We have probably but one species which should be known as
Platythyris oculatana. Boisduval’s figure and description of Vitrina do
not agree with our species, and probably v/friza represents ocu/atana in
Europe. Much confusion has occurred through Dr. Clemens having
described the species figured by us, Am. Lyc. Nat. Hist., N. Y., vol. vili,.
pl. £3, figs. 4-5, as one of the Tortricidz, and without referring to-
Boisduval’s original illustration of the genus. A second species is-
afterwards described by Dr. Clemens under the name of Dysodia mar-
garitana, which I have never seen. Consult Am. Soc. Belge, T. 7, Pl. 1,.
for an illustration ot the embryonic stages of Zhyris. They seem to
correspond generally very well with Dr. Clemens’ characters of the larva
of Dysodea.
NOTES ON MEGACHILE CENTUNCULARIS.
BY THOS. G. GENTRY. GERMANTOWN, PA.
Since so much has been written upon the habits of our ordinary
Leaf-cutting Bee, it would seem presumptuous for me to offer anything
further in connection therewith. But a few facts which came to my notice>
recently are sufficiently interesting and important to merit publication.
During the latter part of June, 1873, several cells, a half a dozen in
number, were sent to me by a friend, who had accidentally brought them
to light while digging underneath the shade of a Spirea corymbosa. They
were found in close proximity to each other, arranged in a nearly
horizontal position, at a depth of three inches below the surface of the-
72 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
ground. The soil was comparatively solid. From the freshness of the
leaves which composed the cells it would seem that the work had but
lately been accomplished, but after the examination of a few, it was
evident that some time had elapsed, since the larvae had attained to
-considerable dimensions.
The cells were nearly three-quarters of an inch in length, with a
-diameter of one-fourth of an inch. ‘They were constructed of nearly
perfect leaves of Spiraca corymbosa, instead of those of the various species
-of Rose. The outermost circle of leaves, three in number, had their
margins slightly overlapping on the exterior, each piece forming an arc of
.a circle of 120 degrees. Within these were other three, arranged
-alternately with them; others, again, alternating with the latter, and so
-on until there were no less than six circles, having eighteen pieces in all.
Each succeeding individual layer from without inwardly projected but
-slightly beyond its predecessor, having but a slight resemblance ‘‘toa
long sleeve with folds upon it,” as has been affirmed by writers. The
mouth of each cell was closed by six circular pieces of leaves, nipped
from the same plants. These were a trifle larger than the mouth of the
-cell, and when in position presented a concave surface facing outwardly.
It is obvious that the whole structure is a striking proof of adaptation to
-an end. If the cell had been arranged vertically, its structure would
doubtless have afforded water a ready access to the larva and its food, and
thus have defeated the object which nature had in view. In the horizontal
position the tile-like arrangement in the exterior, acts as a sort of roof by
which the water is turned off. The concave arrangement of the circular
pieces subserves a similar purpose. ‘The freshness of the leaves was
-due, no doubt, to the protection which the enveloping earth afforded.
The chemical rays of sunlight, which act upon the parenchymatous
material of the leaf, when deprived of its vitality, converting the green
and granular chlorophyl into others of a brownish hue, operate with less
intensity at the depth of three inches. The comparative absence of
moisture in the ground, no doubt, prevents oxidation ; there being ample
moisture at the same time to insure softness and prevent rigidity.
During the early part of last April (1874), several cells were brought
to me by one of my pupils, which, on a superficial examination, appeared
to be the mud cells of our ordinary Pelopeus, the mud-dauber. They
were found adherent to the rafters of an unplastered attic. The cells
were arranged side by side in numbers of three. On the exterior there
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 173:
— —— SS - = —__---_ - — = ee
were no shallow grooves, denoting lines of demarcation. With this.
unimportant difference, the general outline of the mud mass, with its
combination of pellets, was exactly similar to that constructed by the
mud-dauber. Had the lines of separation existed, I should have had no
hesitancy in characterizing it as a case either of usurpation of instinct
upon the part of the A/egachile, or one of confiscation of property.
Within, exposed to view by detachment from the aforesaid rafters, were:
what I supposed to be the leafy cells of Afegachile. ‘The length of these
and the peculiar disposition of their parts, materially different from what
I had always observed, operated upon my mind to such an extent that I
was almost constrained to believe that I had met with something altogether
new to science, or else that I had been fortunate enough to discover a
species of Pelopeus with Megachile-like habits.
Each cell was one and one-eighth inches in length, with a diameter
slightly exceeding one-fourth of an inch. It was built of elliptical pieces
snipped from the leaves of a species of Spirea (S. corymbosa, it seemed
to me.) ‘lhe pieces were of less dimensions than those before alluded.
to, and arranged somewhat on a similar plan, except that there was a
strong appearance of a double cell, as if the inferior concavity of one
cell had been deposited in the superior concavity or mouth of the other.
This resemblance held true to a certain extent, but the absence of a
clear line of division between the two seemed to militate against the idea
of a double arrangement.
Having kept a few of the cells a reasonable length of time, until all
hope of seeing insects emerge therefrom had vanished, I began the work
of destruction by carefully pulling some of them to pieces. While
engaged in my labor I was led to notice the comparative ease with which
each relative structure separated in the middle. Within the aperture of
one cell was a cylindrical pouch, composed of pure silk, glazed within by
an oily secretion from the larva. This containsd a perfect, but dead
bee, which was readily identified as Afegachile centuncularis. ‘The lower
half of the same enclosed a similar silken sack, with fragments of legs>-
wings, antennze and complete body segments, with a mass of debris which
showed the clearest evidence of the ravages of some ruthless destroyer.
Under a glass of moderate power, I had little difficulty in recognizing the
fragments as parts of a JZegachile similar to the above.
This last fact impressed me as peculiarly interesting and novel, as.
showing the economy which exists and is practiced among certain
174 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
individuals of this species. ‘To construct the inner leafy cells, with their
numerous parts, is a labor of little moment when contrasted with the
hours that must be spent in moulding the clay for the outer side into
-small pellets, and then adjusting them to their proper positions. The
existence of two bees in separate cases of silk, one above the other, in
the same earthy apartment, seems to imply the existence of a double leafy
-cell, even though a partition between the two should be wanting.
It would appear that the deposition of one cell upon another would
defeat the object which the mother JAZegachile had in view. On the
supposition that oviposition in the upper cell took place subsequently to
that in the lower, the time of leaving the egg would be earlier in the
latter, the larva would sooner mature, and the perfect insect would be
prepared to leave its prison-house anterior to its associate, and,
being unable to effect its exit by reason of the narrowness
of its domicile, would perish. This, doubtless, would be the upshot of
the affair if similar cells in like situations should be built in the summer
season. But as far as I have had any experience in the matter, the
summer abodes of AMegachile are single, a few inches below the surface of
the ground, and generally under the shelter of some protecting shrub,
where the warm rays of the sun can not effect any mischief. ‘This site is
-doubtless well selected for the reasons above adduced.
There are usually two broods of this species in a season; a summer
brood, which makes its appearance early in July, and a spring brood
which has survived the winter in its double cell of earth and leaves. It
is possible that the larva, after having exhausted its stock of honey and
pollen, its natural food early in the fall, passes into the condition of a
pupa, and thus remains until awakened from its sleep by the genial warmth
-of spring.
In the cells designed for the winter accommodation of the species, the
-double arrangement of the inner cells will not materially affect the original
purpose, since both insects will have passed through the cycle of trans-
formations, and when the suitable time shall have arrived for their
departure, the one occupying the upper cell will have made its way out
_and thus left a clear passage for the one below.
The absence of a line of separation between the two cells appears to
indicate that the food had been deposited in the lower cell, and two eggs
instead of one had been left in mistake. Where it is the custom of the
insect to deposit but one egg, instinct teaches it to collect just enough
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST is
Gr
food to provide for the sustenance of the larva to which it gives birth ;
the two eggs in the present cases were deposited through some inadvert-
ence upon the part of the insect, and it does not seem wise to conclude
that a similar inadvertency had led to an accumulation of a double portion
-of food. If this double brood had been the result of mistake, it is not
possible that several mistakes of a similar kind would have occurred, since
it was my good fortune to meet with unoccupied cells that showed
evidence of being once occupied.
If two eggs are deposited within the same cell, there must be collected
-a double quantity of pollen and honey for the nourishment of the larve.
The one which attained to full growth first would, no doubt, seek a clear
space in which to spin its covering, and this would be afforded by the
upper part of the tube or upper cell. The other, after having made a
sufficient space for this essential operation by the consumption of the
remaining food, would accomplish the task therein.
Some cells, which it was my privilege to examine, exhibited faint
tracings of a partition-like arrangement between them. A portion of the
debris in the lower cell, to which reference has been previously made, may
have been due to the comminution of the leaves forming the separating
layers, through some cause or other. But this lam unable to substantiate.
If such should prove to be the case by future observations, there is
no doubt that there will be found to exist a separate accumulation of
pollen and honey in each cell.
After a little reflection, there seems to be an offset to a portion of this
-argument. May it not be possible that after the two larve had matured
into perfect insects, the more powerful one overcame the weaker, and that
the fragments of wings, legs, body segments, &c., are the sad trophies of
such a conflict? This point would be worthy of acceptance if every cell
which was examined had betrayed similar evidences. But it was not the
-case. It only remains, then, to assume one of two opinions—either that
the two ova were deposited upon a double allowance of food, so that the
larvze, when hatched, should find ample sustenance to reach maturity, and
subsequently had constructed their silken cocoons in their respective
positions, said positions being-determined upon by priority of growth;
-or, that a double cell was built, one on the top of the other, each properly
victualled and provided with an ovum.
176 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
STRAY NOTES ON CANADIAN DIPTERA.
BY BEVERLEY R. MORRIS, M. D., NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND,
The following fragmentary notes are submitted to the readers of the-
CANADIAN ENromoLocisr in the hope that they may assist in even a
small measure in determining the numbers of this order occurring in the
Dominion.
When in Canada [ only incidentally captured Diptera, and the number:
I possess is very limited. I am indebted to F. Smith, Esq., of the
sritish Museum, for the names of those given below. There are some
other species as yet undetermined, and which on some future occasion I
may succeed in getting named. ‘The localities and dates given may be
relied upon, as I numbered every insect taken, and recorded the date and
locality at the time. I have included a few taken in New Hampshire and
Maine, as it is probable they may also be found in Canada. Apologizing
for the imperfection of the list, | send it in hope of assisting any one who
may take up the Diptera of Canada. For the labels being lost off some:
Iam indebted to the gross carelessness of one of our railways, over which
the cabinet containing my insects was sent. I found great numbers loose,.
some ground to powder, others more or less injured, and many with the
tickets shaken off. This prevents my being certatn of the localities, &c.,.
in some cases, but I Je/eve all were taken in or near ‘Toronto.
Anthrax fuscipennis, Say.
I took this fly in considerable numbers on the carriage drive in front
of the Rev. W. Ritchie’s, at Georgina, on the 8th of August, 1863. They
were hovering over holes in the gravel.
Anthrax anatis, Say.
Taken at the same time and place, and along with the last. Habits.
the same.
Anthrax bastardi, Macq.
One was taken at Orillia in August,1863. [also took one at Gorham,
in New Hampshire, on August rgth, 1861.
Anthrax ter minipennts Say.
Labels lost, but taken, I believe, at ‘Toronto.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. fF
“I
Anthrax fulvina,Say.
Taken at Orilia the end of July, 1863; also at Cape Cottage, Port-
land, Maine, July 29th, 1861, and up to August 8th.
Stratiomts tschiaca, Harris.
At Cape Cottage, Portland, August 2nd, 1861.
Syritta proxima, Say.
Taken at Cape Cottage, Portland, on August 3rd, 1861.
Syrphus Ribesit, Fab.
Label lost, but I believe taken at Toronto.
Syrphus agnon, Walk.
At Toronto, in our garden, Nov. to, 186r.
Lristalis inflexus, Walk.
Cape Cottage, Portland, July 22nd, rg6r.
Eeristalis sincerus, Harris.
At Toronto in 1860.
Eristalis nebulosus, Walk.
Label lost.
Conops sagittaria, Say.
Near Cape Cottage, Portland, July 24th, 1861. Two specimens.
Tachina finitima, Walk.
Cape Cottage, Portland, August 7th, 1861. Common.
Tachina apicifera, Wak.
College Avenue, Toronto, June 3rd, 1858. Cape Cottage, Portland,
July 27th, 1861.
Tachina iterans, Walk.
Label lost. Probably Toronto.
? Sp.
At Orilia in August, 1863. Same size as Z: finitima. Abdomen
black, with a white spot at the side of each segment.
? Sp.
Bred from a chrysalis of some moth at Toronto, April 2nd, 1862.
Rather smaller than the last species. Abdomen black, with somewhat
obsolete white spots on side of each segment. Eyes reddish.
? Sp.
Somewhat like the last, but only half the size. Label lost.
? Sp.
Label lost. Same size as last. Wings iridescent ; body black; eyes
brownish red.
178 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Chrysops carbonarius, Walk.
Taken at the Humber, Toronto, June 13th, 1863.
Asilus ———-? Sp.
Cape Cottage, Portland, August 16th, 1861. A large species, measur-
ing an inch and a quarter in length, and nearly an inch and a half in
expanse of wings.
CORRESPONDENCE.
EXPLANATORY.
DEAR SIR,—
The following considerations have suggested themselves to me in
reference to Mr. Herman Strecker’s recent personal attacks. For myself
I do not think that either Mr. Strecker’s style or language can be defended
on any ground. As to the matter, this is furnished by certain synonyms
in my writings on North American moths. ‘To those conversant with the
subject, it is not necessary to point out the fewness of such mistakes, but
it may have escaped notice that in nearly every instance I have been the
first to correct the mistake,and thus Mr. Strecker’s abuse has come ex fost
facto and proves itself wholly personal and unscientific. I take pleasure
in referring here to words used in my earliest paper (Proc. Acad. Nat,
Sci. Phil., 1862, p. 59). I think I have always lived up to my first state-
ment, and where I have made a synonym, both ‘‘ willingly and gladly”
acknowledged it. And although I am charged by Mr. Strecker with
allowing one mistake to remain “nineteen months” before correction, I
can assure him that I still corrected it the moment I became aware that
it existed. Certain of these mistakes have occurred in describing American
species under distinct names. Sometimes these species have turned out
to be the same with European forms, and a synonym has been the result.
I do not think this the great misfortune which Mr. Strecker pretends, the
less when we remember that in many instances the American specimens
may be distinguished, and I have suggested that we shall lose a knowledge
of these distinguishing points unless we use distinguishing names. ~
Certainly these are occasions for quiet scientific observation, not in any
case for unscientific vituperation. The difficulty of avoiding a giving of
too great weight to a remote locality is even instanced by Mr. Strecker,
who has re-described a 2 Cressonia juglandis as a new species of
Smerinthus from ‘ Texas.” The pale specimen, merely wanting the
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 179
median shade on the primaries, would, if caught, say in Reading, have
hardly furnished one of Mr. Strecker’s “coveted” novelties. Again,
instances are on record where naturalists have first considered the
American species the same as the European, and then changed their
views and described them as distinct. An instance of this is offered by
Brephos infans, first described as the same as the European Brephos
parthenias. ‘The amount of error is no greater in the one case than the
other.
At the time that I commenced my labors, the difficulty of determining
our species of moths was very great, certainly much greater than it is
now. ‘That this change is in part due to my work I think is true, equally
so that Mr. Strecker is both unjust and ungrateful to omit the consideration
from his mind. How much he himself is indebted to my labors may be
seen by comparing my work on the genus Cavoca/a with his own on the
same subject. His figures and determinations are taken from the collec-
tion I studied and the paper I published; and, in reality, his figures
merely supplement my original work. That Mr. Strecker has so generally
coincided with me in his specific discriminations in the genus Cafoca/a, is,
I think, less a compliment to my correctness than a proof of Mr. Strecker’s
ready acceptance of assistance.
I have a few special remarks with which to conclude. Jam blamed
for retaining the name C. ponderosa instead of the earlier C. nebulosa ||
for a species of Catocala. From Linnezus to Lederer it has been
customary to avoid the repetition of names in the same family of moths,
and Gueneé has changed the name of a species of Catocala on account
of an Anarta bearing the same specific title. I have never changed the
name of another author on this account ; my opinion (as, indeed, cited
by Mr. Strecker) being that a fresh name is unnecessary. I have merely,
where two names were attached to the same species, preferred the later
when the earlier had been previously used. | Whether my descriptions in
the genus Cazoca/a are the best, I will not dispute with Mr. Strecker ; in
his comments on C. jonderosa Mr. Strecker forgets that we figured the
species, in justice to Mr. Wiest, the artist, I think very acceptably. Nor
will I allow Mr. Strecker the proper authority to discuss the value of
structural characters in the Lepidoptera, seeing that he has shown no
experience in the matter, and is unable to discriminate even between the
sexes of Cafoca/a when the abdomen is wanting.
A. R. GROTE.
1890 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
SYNONYMICAL NOTE.
Dr. Boisduval has recently re-described Eudryas grata (Fabr.) from
Georgia under the name Zudryas assimilis, with the remark: Cette belle
espece n’a pas encore ete figuree. It is manifestly unimportant to Dr.
Boisduval that the science of Entomology is pursued in America. In
this same paper (Revue et Magasin de Zoologie, 1874) the genus Alypia
is erroneously attributed to Kirby, and a citation is given: ‘ Sphinx
octomaculata Hubn. Zut., 119, 120.” which does not exist, the proper
citation being ‘ Alypia octomaculaiis Tubn., Zutr., No. 60, fig. 119,
E20;"
Dr. Boisduval separates Drury’s figure of Urania rhipheus (1773) from
Cramer’s (1782), under the new nameof Urania Druryt. ‘This is, how-
ever, a simple synonym in any event, since Drury’s species must retain
the name of RAipheus as originally proposed. Cramer himself says, when
describing his R/ipheus, T. 3, p. 193, “‘ Ce beau Papillon et qui est tres
rare, ressemble beaucoup a’ celui qui a ete annonce par Mr. Drury dans
ses Illustrations of Natural History, Vol. 2, pl. 23, figs. 1, 2, sows le nom
gue nous lui donnons ct-dessus.” Guene$, in 1857, also draws attention to
this mistake of Dr. Boisduval’s, then only proposed to be committed. It
has been generally conceded that Drury’s species is the same as Cramer’s,
and that the differences in the figures arose from an intentional mutilation
of Drury’s original specimen. Dr. Boisduval’s quotation from Lacordaire
would hardly cover such a case as this, in which a pair of scissors very
probably effected ‘‘la creation.” To find another “taille sur le meme
patron,” would argue, then, a lack of conscience somewhere, as well as
the sacrifice of a specimen. But Dr. Boisduval insists on other characters
to separate the two species than the absence of the tails, i. e., the large
size and the ornamentation of the fore wings of R/zphews Drury. So in
this case we should have two species, 1. e., Chrystridia Rhipheus (Drury)
nec Hubn. ( = Urania Druryi Boisd.) and Chrysiridia Orientalis (Swains)
( = Rhipheus Cramer 385, A. B.; Chrysiridia Rhiphearia Ht 1.)
A. "Ry GRore
Our usual acknowledgements of books received have been omitted
for want of space, they will appear in our next.—Ep. C. E.
Che Canadian Entomologist.
VOL. VI. LONDON, ONT., OCTOBER, 1874. No. 10
ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO, 1874.
To the Members of the Entomological Society of Ontario :
GENTLEMEN,—I beg to offer you again, after the lapse of a year, my
hearty congratulations upon the continued prosperity of our Society. As
you have already learnt from the Report of our Secretary-Treasurer, we
have been favored with a slight increase in our list of membership——as
large, indeed, as can fairly be expected in a Society which confines itself
to the study of a particular branch of Natural Science, and which cannot
therefore attract into its ranks many who are not specially engaged, to
some extent at least, in this limited field of investigation.
It is especially pleasing to find that our number of branches continues
to increase—a highly successful one, with its headquarters in Montreal,
having been organized since our last annual meeting. Its first annual
report has been already presented to us in the pages of our journal.
The CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, upon whose success the weli-being
and fair fame of our Society so largely depends, has—I am sure you will
all agree with me—been more ably sustained than ever before. The
thanks of the whole Society are assuredly due to the energetic and
talented Editor, Mr. Saunders, who has been, indeed, its mainstay from
the issue of its first number until now. It would be well if all our mem-
bers would aid him, not only by contributions, but also by increasing the
circulation, and thereby improving the means of support of the
publication.
When I applied just now the term “limited” to our field of enquiry,
I only did so when considering Entomology as one amongst a large
number of sections of the great circle of natural sciences, which includes
within its area the study of all things material which come within the
range of man’s intellectual powers. If we look, however, at Entomology
and its objects alone, we cannot fail to see at once that it is practically
182 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
without limit—that there is work enough for thousands of investigators
for almost innumerable generations to come. And when we couple with
Entomology other kindred sciences, such as Botany, Geology and Physical
Geography, which are so closely allied that no student can safely overlook
them, we begin almost to be overwhelmed with the vast extent of this
field of knowledge that we seek to explore. So vast, indeed, is the field
that no one now ventures to survey the whole of it, except in a very
general way; each explorer finds himself compelled—if he would do
any effective work—to confine his labour to some one or two of its
sections or subsections. _ By this division of labour, all departments of
the Science will by degrees be taken up, and much that is now a ‘ ¢erra
incognita’ will become familiar to the patient explorer.
In our own country—within the bounds of this great Dominion—there
is need of many more students and explorers. Even in this Province of
Ontario, the headquarters of our Society, where more has been done than
in any other part of Canada, there is yet room for a great increase to our
band of collectors and investigators. | How incomplete, for instance, is
even yet our list of Diurnal Lepidoptera, and how many pages are still
blank in the life history of some of our commonest butterflies? Our able
Editor, my excellent friend, Mr. Saunders, has done much to fill up these
blank pages, and his work is everywhere recognized as thorough and
authoritative ; but yet there remains much more to be done, that we hope
our members will before long accomplish. If we turn to Crepuscular
and Nocturnal Lepidoptera, we must feel almost appalled at the extent of
our ignorance. For those who have the time and the ability, I can think
of no more interesting or attractive field of enquiry—none that will sooner
or better repay the pains-taking student, whether he looks for fame or
pleasure, whether he sighs for fresh fields to conquer, or desires to set his
foot where man has not trodden before. In a department where so much
remains to be done, we all, I am sure, offer a most cordial welcome to
one who has recently cast in his lot among us, and has traversed the broad
Atlantic in order to study the Noctuidz of this country. I allude to Mr.
George Norman, of St. Catharines, late of Forres, in Scotland.
In another order of insects, the Coleoptera, much no doubt has been~
accomplished. Through the pains-taking labours of a Billings and a
Pettit, not to mention other good workers, and by the aid of the great
authorities in the neighbouring States, Dr. Leconte and Dr. Horn in par-
ticular, we have been able to increase our list of Canadian beetles from a
few hundreds at the birth of the Society, to more than as many thousands
——
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 183
now. But still how very much more remains to be done? What a field
of labour there is before both student and collector in the Carabide, the
Staphylinidee, the Curculionidz and other numerous families of beetles!
May we not hope that during the coming winter our present scattered
stores of knowledge will be utilized and made available for the good of
all, by the compilation and publication of a large addition to our old and
valuable list of Canadian Coleoptera ?
If there remains so much to be done in these two favorite orders,
what shall I say of the remainder, that are so generally neglected? It is
surely time that some of our members should devote themselves to the
working up of such interesting orders as the Neuroptera, the Hymen-
optera, the Orthoptera, the Hemiptera, even if no one can be found at
present to take up the study of the more difficult Diptera.
In all these orders there is the nucleus of a collection in the cabinets
of our Society, while no doubt much additional material would be
furnished by individuals to any member who will take up in earnest the
study of any one of them. It would be a great contribution to our
knowledge of Canadian insects if there could be published by the Society
carefully prepared lists of as many species as possible in each of these
orders. Such lists would, of course, be very incomplete at first, but they
could easily be so arranged in publication that additions might be made
to them at any time, as our stores of knowledge increase.
Such, gentlemen, are some of the modes in which, I think, we should
endeavour to extend the operations of our Society. If each year, when
we assemble together for our annual meeting, we can point to some such
work done in the previous twelvemonth, we shall have good reason to
congratulate ourselves upon real permanent progress—upon building up
the foundation of an Entomological structure that will prove enduring
and substantial in time to come.
Thus far I have referred to Entomology as a purely scientific pursuit ;
there is another aspect in which we cannot refrain from regarding it, viz.,
as a subject of very great economic importance to every inhabitant of our
land. ‘This view of Entomology has been especially brought before us of
late by the havoc that has been produced in our farms and gardens by
hordes of destructive insects.
The dreaded Colorado Potato Beetle (Doryphora decem-lineata) has
spread eastward with great rapidity, and has now reached the Atlantic
coast insome parts of the United States. I have been informed by
184 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
friends who reside in various parts of the Union, that while little, if any,.
diminution in the numbers of the pest is to be observed in the west, it is.
becoming very destructive where it has attained to its second year of
colonization. During the first year of its invasion of a particular locality,
no appreciable damage is done by it, but as its armies increase in geome-
trical progression, the potato crops of the following season generally
suffer to a terrible extent. It has now covered the whole of the Province
of Ontario, and is very destructive throughout the western half of it,.
though we are happy to say that our intelligent farmers and gardeners are
effectually using the remedies suggested by our colleagues, Messrs
Saunders and Reed, in their Report to the Legislature a few years ago.
In Quebec it is but beginning to be observed ; no doubt it will be found
there in myriads next year. Across the border, it has penetrated to the
western portion of Vermont, into New Jersey, down to the sea coast in
Pennsylvania, and in Maryland ; at Baltimore, Md., it is very abundant,
while straggling outposts have been found as far south as Washington.
The whole of New York and Ohio have been pretty well covered with
the insect, while in Missouri it is as abundant as ever. In Indiana and
Michigan there is a local diminution in the numbers of the pest, but no
where are there as yet any signs of its cessation. The people of Europe
are now beginning—and with good reason—to feel alarmed at the
prospect of its crossing the Atlantic. The English and French scientific
and agricultural publications are commencing to publish notices of the
insect and to talk of restrictive measures, while in Germany, we are told
that stringent regulations will probably soon be put in force by the Goy-
ernment to prevent the invasion of the country. Unless some regulations.
of this kind are put in general force throughout the whole of Western
Europe, I believe that—judging from the spread of noxious European
insects on this side of the Atlantic—the Colorado Beetle will soon
become there as familiar an object and as destructive a pest as it is here.
While the Colorado Beetle from the Rocky Mountains has been over-
spreading the whole northern continent eastward, there has been moving
southward and westward in a similar manner another insect—the Cabbage
Butterfly (Pzeris rape)—that is almost as injurious as the other. This-
insect, an European importation, as of course you all know, starting from
Quebec some few years ago—there first noticed by our friends, Messrs.
Couper and Bowles—has now spread westward over almost the whole of
Ontario. | At Port Hope it has been this year by far the most common
of all butterflies ; thousands were to be seen throughout the whole
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 185
season, from early summer to the present time, flitting about along every
road, and hundreds hovering over or alighting in every garden. ‘There is
hardly a cabbage or cauliflower fit to be eaten anywhere in the neighbour-
hood, while stocks and mignonette have been ruthlessly demolished in all
the flower gardens. Its spread westward, however, has hardly been as
rapid as its movements to the south. The two maritime provinces of
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and all the New England States, have
for some time been occupied, and now I am told that this year it is most
plentiful as far south as Washington, and that itis by no means rare in
Virginia.
While referring to the wonderful spread of noxious insects during the
past few years, and to their excessive prevalence now, I must not omit to
mention the affliction caused to our north-west Province of Manitoba and
to many of the western States by the swarms of locusts, or grasshoppers
as they are termed (Calopienus spretus). The accounts of the sufferings
caused by this terrible plague are perfectly appalling, and rival anything
that we have read of the ravages of the Eastern locusts. Happily for us
they do not seem to extend much further to the east than the Missouri
River, though, occasionally they penetrate to some of the broad prairies
beyond. As a detailed account of this insect will probably be afforded
you in the forthcoming Annual Report of our Society, I need not detain
you with any further remarks upon it.
The only other insect to which I need now call your attention for a
moment, is the Grape-Vine Phylloxera. Iam glad to learn that its rava-
ges in the vineyards to the south of us have been comparatively trifling
this year, and that in all probability the summer droughts to which we are
so liable, will prevent its ever being as formidable a foe as was at one time
apprehended.
To turn from this not very cheerful subject, I may mention, before
concluding, that Mr. Saunders and myself duly attended the recent meet-
ing at Hartford, Conn., of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science. There we had the pleasure of meeting a large number of
Entomologists from all parts of the United States, and we had the further
gratification also, of being presided over, in general session, by the ablest
of American Entomologists, Dr. Leconte, and in the Zoological Section,
by another great worker in our department, Mr. S. H. Scudder. Infor-
mal meetings of Entomologists were frequently held, and finally it was
agreed upon to form an Entomological Club of Members of the A.A.A.S.,
who should assemble annually a day before the meeting of the Association
186 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
in the place that may be from time to time selected for its sessions. In
this way we trust that much may be done for the furtherance of our
favourite branch of science, and that Entomologists generally, from all
parts of the continent, will bring together their types of new species and
the surplus of their collections for mutual information and benefit.
Without further trespassing upon your time and attention, I beg to
thank you, gentlemen, for the kind consideration you have shown to my
colleagues and myself during our term of office, and with hearty wishes
for the continued prosperity of our Society,
I have the honour to be, gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
CHARLES J. S. BETHUNE,
President E. 8. of O-
Trinity College School, Port Hope, Sept. 22, 1874.
ON SOME CHANGES IN THE NOMENCLATURE OF NORTE
AMERICAN COLEOPTERA, WHICH HAVE BEEN
RECENTLY PROPOSED.
BY JOHN L. LECONTE, M. D., PHILADELPHIA.
Since the issue of the Check List of N. A. Coleoptera by the late
Mr. G. R. Crotch, I have been asked by several persons interested in that
branch of science, if I would advise them to change the labels in their
collections in accordance with the nomenclature of several familiar genera
as therein set forth. To all such applicants I have answered, that such
changes are not expedient, unless they are fully convinced of the propriety
of admitting them. For my part, I considered them quite unnecessary,
and still further, contrary to the code of laws of nomenclature under
which I supposed we were acting.
Circumstances, which it is unimportant for me to specify, have
prevented me from heretofore making known the views upon which I
formed the opinion thus given, but as confusion of ideas upon the
adoption or non-adoption of Mr. Crotch’s nomenclature now exists, I
think that the time has now arrived for a full discussion of the
subject.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 187
For the purpose of confining attention to the more radical changes
proposed, I will leave for a future time all questions relating to specific
' mames, and consider at present only those affecting genera.
With the exception of some very unimportant examples, these chiefly
turn upon the validity of the genera proposed and defined by Dr. Geoffroy
in his Histoire Abregee des Insectes.
The first edition of this valuable work, in which, as is justly said by
Mr. Crotch, he displayed “a degree of acumen far in advance of his age,”
bears date on the title page, 1764*, and was printed at Paris. ‘The last
edition, with supplements, was printed also in Paris, year of the Republic
vii, (1799-)
The binominal nomenclature was first distinctly used in zoology in the
roth edition of the Systema Nature, by Linnzeus, in 1758, and repeated
in the r2th edition, 1766-67.
After the publication of the work last mentioned, Fabricius and
others, devoting themselves more exclusively to entomology than Linnzus
had done, divided his genera, and in describing new ones adopted other
names for several of those described by Geoffroy.
The names of these later authors have, until the changes proposed by
Mr. Crotch, been adopted without cavil.
Thus much as to the history of the question. Now as to the
argument.
The most systematic attempt to reduce the laws of nomenclature in
zoology to a code, capable of being easily understood and applied, was
that of the British Association, acting through a committee, which
reported at the meeting held in 1842.
Without discussing the details of this report, some of which might be
and, indeed, were subjected to criticism, it is sufficient to state that the
principles therein recommended were adopted by the Association, and
without important modification, were reaffirmed by the Association of
American Geologists and Naturalists at the meeting held in 1845.¢ These
laws have been accepted and acted on by nearly all investigators in
Natural History ever since.
Some discussions having taken place which indicated a possibility
of improving the code, it was again referred by the British Association to
* Mr. Crotch states 1762, but I know not on what authority.
+ Am. Journ., 2nd series, ii, 423—(1846).
188 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
a committee, which reported substantially the same rules, with a few
closer definitions of moot points and some useful commentaries upon
certain rules.
This report was adopted at the meeting in 1865, and was reprinted
with notes by Prof. A. E. Verrill, in the American Journal of Science and
Arts, 2nd ser., xlvili, 92, in 1869.
It would therefore appear that the common law under which Zoologists
now act in questions of nomenclature, is the code, the history of which I
have just given. The only other alternative is, that there are no established
rules, and that in the Republic of Science each citizen is a judge, capable
of expounding the law for himself, and amenable to no tribunal.
I will therefore assume that until a different code is formally adopted,
American naturalists are disposed to abide by the recommendations of
the two important scientific bodies, whose reports are above mentioned.
As the language of all three reports is equally clear and definite upon
the points I wish to make against the reception of the Geoffroy’an genera,
I shall quote. from the latest, reprinted in Silliman’s Journal, 1869, as
being most easy of reference.
“ Rule III. The committee are of opinion, after much deliberation,
that the XIIth edition of the Systema Naturae is that to which the limit
of dime should apply, viz.,.1766 ”.......\(p. 94)
P. 96. ‘As our subject matter is strictly confined to the dznomzal
system of nomenclature, or that which indicates species by means of two
Latin words, the one generic, the other specific, and as this invaluable
method originated solely with Linnaeus, it is clear that as far as species
are concerned, we ought not to attempt to carry back the principle of
priority beyond the date of the 12th ed. of the Systema Naturae, 1766.
Previous to that period, naturalists were wont to indicate species not by a
name comprised in one word, but by a definition which occupied a
sentence, the extreme verbosity of which method was productive of great
inconvenience.”......(p.97-.) ‘‘ The same reasons apply to genera.”....
“Brisson, who was a contemporary of Linnaeus and acquainted with the
Systema Naturae, defined and published certain genera of birds which are
additional to those in the 12th edition of Linnaeus’ works, and which are
therefore of perfectly good authority. But Brisson still adhered to the
old method of designating species by a sentence instead of a word, and
therefore while we retain his defined genera, we do not extend the same
indulgence to the titles of his species, even when the latter are accidentally
binomial in form.”
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 189
By reference to the several editions of Geoffroy it will be seen, rst, that
he did not adopt the binominal nomenclature, except in regard to the addi-
tional species described in the supplements to the edition of 1799*; 2nd,
that he did not admit himself any rule of priority in generic names, inas-
much as he described genera previously proposed by Linnzeus under other
names, quoting Linnzus in synonymy ; 3rd, that he made no reclamation
either in genera or species, in the last edition of his work.
It must also be kept in mind that Olivier and Latreille, cotemporaries
and friends of Geoffroy, used his generic names only so far as they did
not conflict with the genera established by other authors up to the date
of their respective memoirs. They did not therefore ‘revive’ these
names, as claimed by Mr. Crotch, but adopted them and introduced them
into the proper and permanent literature of scientific terminology, thus
placing them upon a new basis.
It would therefore appear, that notwithstanding the great value of the
work of Geoffroy, and the importance of the views of classification which
he proposed (and none will be more ready to admit the merit of his
labors than myself,) he did, by an unfortunate want of appreciation of the
necessity of adopting the Linnzan binominal nomenclature, and by not
recognizing the principle of priority, exclude himself from being cited
either for genus or species under the existing code, except so far as relates
to the supplemental species in the edition of 1799.
In all other instances the names of his genera are free, and must be
attributed to the authors who subsequently employed and defined them,
either wth or without reference to his use of the names.
In order that the evidence upon which I have based my opinion may
be readily accessible, I have appended the remarks of Mr. Crotch upon
the priority of his names, and two tables, one of synonyms, the other of
homonyms of all the Coleopterous genera defined by Geoffroy,
_ Inconclusion, I would recommend to those who use the Check List
to substitute for the generic names adopted from Geoffroy in that work,
the following, which have been in current use:
P. 37.—FPeltis Geoffr. to SimpHa Linn., and change Sv/¢ha_ to
NeEcropHoRUS Fabr. Fabricius was the first to divide the Linnaean
* An abridgment of his work under the name of Fourcroy, with binominal
nomenclature, was issued in 1785, and must be taken, therefore, as the earliest date
for his species.
190 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Silpha into two genera. The idea of type species, now commonly
(though by no means universally adopted), did not then exist, and
consequently it was competent for Fabricius to determine for which part
of the genus he would retain the original name. __If it was for the part
corresponding with Geoffroy’s Fe/tis, the latter must sink. Fabricius’
Necrophorus, as will be seen in the table, is contained in Dermestes
Geoffroy.
P. 42.—Change Zritomide to MyYcETOPHAGID&, and TZvritoma to
Myceropuacus Hellw., or else cite the name Z7ztoma from Fourcroy,
1785. The name in this sense should, in my opinion, be suppressed, as
it was founded on a false character, and should not have been separated
by Geoffroy from his Dermestes.
P. 79.—Change Clerus Geoffr. te TRICHODES Herbst., and Zhanasimus
Latr., so far as it relates to the 1st division of the genus, to CLERUS
Fabr. Herbst first divided the genus as established by Geoffroy, and
adopted by Fabricius, and therefore had the right to apportion the names
to the divisions he founded.
P, 88.—Stenocorus Geoffr. The same reasoning would change this:
name to RHacium Fabr.; the latter author having divided Stenocorus.
P. 51.—Change Cvstetde to BYRRHID&, and p. 52, Crstela to BYRRHUS:
Linn.
P. 93.—Change Spermophagide to BRUCHID&, and My/abris Geoftr. to
Brucuus Linn.
P. 105.—Change Zenebrionellus Cr. to TENEBRIo Linn. Tenebrio
Geoffr. is considered by Mr. Crotch to have Asida as its type, and there-
fore the change was proposed by him for the genus, as restricted by
Fabricius, who first commenced its division into several genera. The
same reason here applies as in several of the preceding instances.
P. 107.—Though not connected with the present subject, I may
remark that the change of Utoma to Phaleria, and of PHALERIA to
Hlalophalerus Cr., has been produced by the assumption of generic types
for the genera of authors who would certainly have repudiated the idea,
had it been proposed to them. Phalerta Latr. was founded on three
species, now belonging to different genera, and in course of time, and by
the will of those who divided the genus, the 1st species has gone back to
the previously established genus Gwathocerus, the 2nd became Uloma and
the 3rd retained the name Phaleria.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 191
P. 108.—Change Pseudocistela Cr. to CISTELA Fabr.
P. 115.—Cantharis Zivv. should read Geoffr. The table of synonyms
of Geoffroy’s genera will show that by adhering to the received code of
laws of nomenclature, the name CanrHaris Lizz. should be restored to
some genus of Telephoridae which contains Linnaean species. Of these
perhaps Podadris would be the most convenient, while for the blistering
flies, a dismemberment of JZe/oe Linn., the name proposed by Fabricius,
Lytra, must be adopted.
Remarks of Mr. Crotch on the Genera of Geoffroy, Trans. Ent. Soc.
London, 1870, 43:
‘‘1762. Geofiroy, in his Histoire Abregee, divides the Coleoptera
into 50 genera, displaying a degree of acumen far in advance of his age,
which was but little appreciated by his contemporaries ; the ill-concealed
jealousy of Linnaeus is only too evident in his 12th edition ; Olivier and
Latreille succeeded in restoring the majority of Geoffroy’s names, but
there are still several which must be adopted. Platycerus and
Peltis, often attributed to Geoffroy, must either be rejected as synonyms,
or, if allowed to remain, be quoted from Latreille and Illiger, who revived
them. The others ought to be all retained.”
Table of Synonyms of Geoffroy’s Genera.
1764. 1767. B77 5; 1789. 1796-1806.
GEOFFROY. LINNAUS. FABRICIUS. OLIVIER. LATREILLE.
1. Platycerus Lucanus Lucanus Lucanus Lucanus
Trogossita Trogosita
Platycerus
2. Ptilinus Ptinus Hispa Ptilinus Ptilinus
Drilus Drilus
3. Scarabeeus Scarabaeus Scarabaeus Scarabaeus Scarabaeus
Cetonia Cetonia Cetonia
Trichius Trichius
‘Trox Trox Trox
Melolontha Melolontha Melolontha
Aphodius
Geotrupes
Oryctes
Hoplia
4. Copris Scarabaeus Scarabaeus Copris Copris
Ateuchus.
192
17064.
GEOFFROY.
14.
“1
16.
17:
18.
IQ.
20.
. Attelabus
. Dermestes
. Byrrhus
. Anthrenus
. Cistela
. Peltis
. Cucujus
» Alater
. Buprestis
Bruchus
Lampyris
Cicindela
Omalysus
Hydrophilus Dytiscus
Dyticus
Gyrinus
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
1767.
LINNUS.
Hister
Dermestes
Silpha
Ptinus
Dermestes
Byrrhus
Byrrhus
Silpha
Buprestis
Elater
Carabus
Cicindela
Ptinus
Lampyris
Cantharis
Dytiscus
Gyrinus
1775; 1789.
FABRICIUS. OLIVIER.
Hister Hister
Dermestes Dermestes
Necrophorus Necrophorus
Tritoma Ips
Dryops
Sphaeridium Sphaeridium
Elophorus Elophorus
Nitidula Nitidula
Anobium Anobium
Anthrenus Anthrenus
Byrrhus Byrrhus
Silpha Silpha
Buprestis Buprestis
Elater Elater
Carabus Carabus
Cicindela Cicindela
Elaphrus Elaphrus
Ptinus Ptinus
Lampyris Lampyris
Pyrochroa
Cantharis Telephorus
Malachius Malachius
Necydalis Oedemera
Omalisus
Hydrophilus Hydrophilus
Dytiscus Dytiscus
Gyrinus Gyrinus
1796-1806.
LATREILLE.
Sisyphus
Onthophagus
Hister
Dermestes
Necrophorus
Ips
Dryops
Sphaeridium
Elophorus
_Nitidula
Anobium
Anthrenus
Byrrhus
Silpha
Choleva
Buprestis
Elater
‘Throscus
Carabus
Cicindela
Elaphrus
Loricera
Panagaeus
Bembidium
Harpalus
Brachinus
Lebia
Ptinus
Gibbium
Lampyris
Telephorus
Malachius
Oedemera
Dasytes
Omalisus .
Hydrophilus
Dyticus
Hyphydrus
Haliplus
Gyrinus
1764. 1767. F776: 1789. 1796-1806.
GEOFFROY. LINNAUS. FABRICIUS. OLIVIER. LATREILLE.
21. Melolontha Chrysomela Cryptocephalus Clytra Clythra
22. Prionus Cerambyx Prionus Prionus Prionus
23. Cerambyx Cerambyx Cerambyx Cerambyx Cerambyx
24. Leptura Leptura Lamia Necydalis Lamia
Cerambyx Saperda Saperda Cerambyx
Necydalis Callidium Callidium Prionus
25. Stenocorus Cerambyx Stenocorus Stenocorus
Leptura Leptura Leptura Leptura
Donacia Donacia Donacia
Rhagium
26. Luperus Luperus
27.Cryptocephalus Chrysomela Cryptocepr. Cryptoceph. Cryptoceph.
Eumolpus Eumolpus
28. Crioceris Chrysomela- Crioceris Crioceris Crioceris
Hispa Hispa Hispa Orsodacna
29. Altica Chrysomela Altica Altica Altica
30. Galeruca Chrysomela Crioceris Galeruca Galeruca
31. ChrysomelaChrysomela Chrysomela Chrysomela Chrysomela
Prasocuris -
32. Mylabris Bruchus Bruchus Bruchus Bruchus
33. Rhinomacer Attelabus Attelabus Attelabus Attelabus
Rhynchites Rhynchites
Apion Apion
Apoderus
34. Curculio Curculio Curculio Curculio Curculio
Calandra
Brachyrhinus.
Lixus
Cionus
35. Bostrichus Dermestes Bostrichus __Bostrichus _ Bostrichus
Anthribus
36. Clerus Dermestes _—_ Clerus Clerus Clerus
Attelabus Notoxus Necrobia Necrobia
Dermestes Thanasimus
Opilus
Anthribus
37. Anthribus Dermestes _Curculio Anthribus — Anthribus
Bruchus Macrocephalus
38. Scolytus Bostrichus Scolytus Scolytus
39. Cassida Cassida Cassida Cassida Cassida
40. Anaspis Mordella Mordella Anaspis
41. Coccinella Coccinella Coccinella Coccinella Coccinella
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
193:
194 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
1764. i767. 1775. 1789. 1796-18956,
GEOFFROY. LINNUS. FABRICIUS. OLIVIER. LATREILLE.
42. Tritoma Chrysomela Mycetophagus Mycetophagus
43. Diaperis Chrysomela Chrysomela Diaperis Diaperis
44. Pyrochroa Lampyris Pyrochroa Pyrochroa Pyrochroa
Cantharis
45. Cantharis Meloe Lytta Cantharis Cantharis
Necydalis Necydalis Oedemera Ocedemera
Lagria Lagria
Sitaris
46. Tenebrio ‘Tenebrio Tenebrio Tenebrio Tenebrio
Silpha Opatrum Opatrum Opatrum
Blaps Blaps Blaps
Helops Helops Helops
Cistela Cistela Cistela
Asida
Pedinus
47. Mordella Mordella Mordella Mordella Mordella
Cistela Cistela
48. Notoxus Meloe Notoxus Notoxus Notoxus
49. Cerocoma Meloe Cerocoma Cerocoma Cerocoma
50. Staphylinus Staphylinus Staphylinus Staphylinus Staphylinus
Paederus Paederus Paederus
Oxyporus Oxyporus Oxyporus
1. Necydalis Cantharis Cantharis Telephorus Malthinus
52. Meloe Meloe Meloe Meloe Meloe
Notes to Table of Synonyms:
1, Trogosita Fabr.; 3, Geotrupes fadr.; 4, Ateuchus Fabr.; 6, Lyctus
Fabr.; Parnus Fabr.; Dryops Zatr.; 7, Dermestes Fabr.; 13, Brachinus
Fabr., Weber ; 15, Lycus Fabr.; 16, Telephorus Scheffer, 1766 ; Dasytes
Fabr.; 17, Omalysus Fabr.; 19, Hydrachna Fadr.; 21, Clytra Laicharting,
1781; 24,Prionus Fadr.; 26, Crioceris Habr.; Ptinus Aadr., 27, Eumolpus
Fabr.; 28, Lema Fabr.; 29, adopted by Fabr. in Syst. Ent., 1775; trans-
ferred to Galleruca in Ent. Syst., 1792; some of the species also under
Crioceris and Chrysomela; 30, Galleruca Fadr.; 32, the name Bruchus
was adopted by Linnaeus from Kalm.; 34, Lixus and Calandra Fadr.; 35,
Fabricius referred capucinus to Bostrichus in 1775, but in 1792 transferred
it to Apate ; 36, Clerus Za¢v.=Trichodes Herbst, Fabr.; 38, Eccoptogaster
fferbst.; 40, Mordella Fabr.; 42, Ips Fabr., Mycetophagus /adbr.; 43,
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 195
Diaperis, Hispa Fadr.; 45, Lagria Fadr.; 48, Notoxus Fadr., 1782,
Anthicus Fadr., 1801 ; 50, several of Gravenhorst’s genera, also adopted
by Latreiile.
These notes are not intended to give in all instances the authority by
whom the additional names of genera were first proposed, but only to
show their use by the authors quoted.
Table of Homonyms of Geoffroy’s Genera, with their Reference to Modern
Families :
WN HW
DP OI AN
Lo AL oo |
|
x = SS &S SS SS FR
SRIAAKEY p
® w& Bw YY w® NW NW
Vicor as GS is: i sO
Nv
~I
_Latr.
Platycerus ; Lucanide. Lucanide (Zafr.)
Ptilinus; Ptinide. Ptinide (Ofv., Latr.)
Scarabaeus,; Scarabaeide. Scarabaeide (Zzuu., Gc.)
Copris ; Scarabaeide. Scarabaeide (O“v., Latr.)
Attelabus ; Histeride. Curculionide (Linn., &c.)
Dermestes ; Dermestide. Dermestide (Linn., &c.)
Byrrhus ; Ptinide. Byrrhide (Linn., &c.)
Anthrenus; Dermestide. Dermestide (Fadr., Oltv., Latr.)
Cistela; Byrrhide. Cistelide (Fadr., Oiv., Latr.)
Pelas ; Sulphide... Troseamde. f , * }
. Cucujus; Buprestide. Cucujide. ( “‘y)
Elater; Elateride. Elateride (Livn., &c.)
Buprestis ; Carabide. Buprestide (Zinz., Gc.)
Bruchus ; Ptinide. Bruchide (Lin, Gc.)
. Lampyris; Lampyride. Lampyride (Ziu., Gc.)
. Cicindela; Telephoride. Cicindelide (Zznn., Gc.)
. Omalysus; Lycide. Lycide (Ofv., Lar.)
. Hydrophilus ; Hydrophilide. Hydrophilide (aér., Oftv., Latr.)
. Dytiscus ; Dytiscide. Dytiscide (Zin., Ge.)
. Gyrinus; Gyrinide. Gyrinide (Zivn. Gc.)
. Melolontha ; Chrysomelide. Scarabaeide (/adr., Oliv., Latr. )
. Prionus ; Cerambycide. Cerambycide (Fadr., Oliv., Latr.)
. Cerambyx ; Cerambycide. Cerambycide (Zizu., &c.)
. Leptura; Cerambycide, Cerambycide (ZLizu., Sc.)
. Stenocorus; Cerambycide. Cerambycide (/aér., Oftv., Latr.)
. Luperus ; Chrysomelide. Chrysomelide (O/v.)
Cryptocephalus; Chrysomelide. Chrysomelide (fadr., Oliv.,
196 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
28. Crioceris; Chrysomelide. Chrysomelide (/aér., Oliv., Latr.)
29. Altica; Chrysomelide. Chrysomelide (/adér., Oliv., Latr.)
30. Galeruca; Chrysomelide. Chrysomelide (Olv., Latr., Fabr.)
31. Chrysomela ; Chrysomelide. Chrysomelide (Linwn., &c.)
32. Mylabris; Bruchide. Meloide (Fadr., Oliv., Latr.)
33. Rhinomacer; Attelabide. Rhinomaceride (Zar. )
34. Curculio; Curculionide. Curculionide (Zzvu., &c.)
35. Bostrichus; Bostrichide. Bostrichide (Olv., Zatr.) Scolytide-
(Fabr.)
36. Clerus; Cleride. Cleride (/aér.,, ORz., Lair.)
37. Anthribus; Anthribide. Anthribide, Ofv., Latr.
38. Scolytus ; Scolytide. Scolytide (O@v., Latr.) Carabide, Fabr.
39. Cassida; Chrysomelide. Chrysomelide (Zzn1., Sc.)
40. Anaspis; Mordellide. Mordellide (Zazr.)
41. Coccinella ; Coccinellide. Coccinellide (Zznun., Ge.)
42. Tritoma; Mycetophagide. Erotylide (adr., &c.)
43. Diaperis; Tenebrionide. Tenebrionide (O%v., Latr. )
44. Pyrochroa; Pyrochroide. Pyrochroide (Fabr., Oliv., Latr.)
45. Cantharis; Meloide. Meloide (Ozv., Zatr.) Telephoride (Zzam.,.
Fabr. )
46. Tenebrio ;: Tenebrionide.. Tenebrionide (Zz27., Ge.)
47. Mordella; Mordellide. Mordellide (Zznn., Gc. )
48. Notoxus; Anthicide (Faér., Oliv , Latr.) Cleride, Fabr.
4g. Cerocoma; Meloide. Meloide (Fabr., Oliv., Lair.)
50. Staphylinus ; Staphylinide. Staphylinide (Zzmn., Sc.)
51. Necydalis; Telephoride. Cerambycide (Zznn., Oliv., Fabr.)
Oedemeride (abr. )
52. Meloe; Meloide. Meloide (Lzzm., &»c.)
DISCREPANCIES IN RECENT LISTS OF LEPIDOPTERA.
BY W. F. KIRBY, ENGLAND.
The opponents of the law cf priority in nomenclature have taken
occasion, both in England and America, to argue against the restoration
of obsolete names, on the ground that the names employed in my
Catalogue of Diurnal Lepidoptera do not always harmonize with those
used in Staudinger’s Catalogue of European Lepidoptera. Although this.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 197
argument looks plausible at first sight, a little reflection will probably
convince many that it is baseless) We may leave genera out of the
question now, as Staudinger has not attempted to grapple with the
difficulties which they present; but as regards species, it must be
remembered—tist, that Staudinger starts from 1758, instead of 1767, and
that I should have done the same had I investigated the question fully
when I commenced my work; and 2nd, that Staudinger, working at
European Lepidoptera only, was necessarily better acquainted with the
special literature relating to them than myself. Had I selected 1758, and
possessed Werneburg’s Beitrage zur Schmetterlings kunde at the time I
was writing my own Catalogue, or had Staudinger’s new Catalogue been
published in time for me to verify the references contained in it, I think I
may say that many of the alleged discrepancies would have disappeared,
although, in some cases, I may have made use of materials which
Staudinger does not appear to have employed, or may have seen reason
to disagree with him as to the determination of certain species. | Unless
two authors have exactly the same materials to work with, or one copies
from the other, no rules will be sufficient to insure their absolute agree-
ment in every case; but by the strict law of priority, the chances of
disagreement are reduced to a minimum.
MICRO - LEPIDOPTERA.
BY V. T. CHAMBERS, COVINGTON, KENTUCKY,
(Continued from page 170.)
ANTISPILA.
A. ampelopsisella. LN. sp.
In the preceding paper on this genus I mentioned that I had found.
the larva of this species mining the leaves of Amipelopsis quinquefolia.
Since that paper was placed in the hands of the Editor, many months
ago, I have succeeded in rearing it from the mine.*
* The specimen mentioned in that paper as having been bred from the Long-
worth grape -vine, 1s now too much denuded for satisfactory comparison with this
species, but I believe it to be the same ; certainly it is not any of the other known
American species, and I have never met with it except in the Longworth grape leaf.
198 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
It is much smaller than any of the previously described species of this
country, measuring only :’s of an inch a/ar ex., whilst cornzfoliella is larger
Y, Lsabella a little larger still, and Viticordifoliclla is scant 4. But it
differs still more decidedly by having an almost lunate, rather large snow-
white streak extending along the base of the dorsal ciliae nearly to the
apex.
The distinctions between the described American species are as
follows: The fascia and dorsal spot in zsabe//a are wider than in corui-
foliella. Tsabella has the palpi white and the anterior feet yellowish, with
brown annulations. Dr. Clemens is in error when he says that it is without
violet and greenish reflections ; I find it shows them about as in coruz-
folicla. Inall the species I should call the fascia silvery rather than
golden, though it certainly is tinged with golden. J/sadc//a has the antennze
brown, with faint purplish reflections in some lights; the basal joint is
pale ochreous yellow, but the terminal joint is of the generai hue. In_
cornifoliella the stalk appears a little darker, and the terminal joint is
white. The head in ¢sabc/la can scarcely be said to be golden, as Dr.
Clemens describes it, but has metallic hues; it appears to be like the
fascia, silvery tinged with golden, though in some lights it appears to be
brown. I have not been able to detect any appreciable differences
between the fore feet of these two species. The face of cornifoliella is
more decidedly brown and less metallic than that of zsabedla, and the
palpi are somewhat darker.
The most striking differences are in the size and form of the fascia.
Viticordifoliclla differs from both zsabella and cornifolidla in the fascia,
which, however, resembles that of zsade//a, except that it is narrower on
the costa. The costal and dorsal white spots in veticordifoliclla are much
more nearly regular triangles than in the other two species, in which they
approach the trapezoidal form, and the costal spot is relatively smaller
than the dorsal and a little further back, but the most striking difference
is that the wings of viticordifolid/a are more of a dead brown hue, the
violet and bronzy green reflections being much less distinct. Its anterior
tarsi are silvery white, and the head and palpi silvery tinged with
yellowish. Ampelopsiella has the palpiwhite ; face and head silvery, the
face with a blue tinge ; antennz dark purple brown, with the tip white ;
fascia much as in coruifoliclla,; costal and dorsal spots rather as in wvéd2-
cordifoliella, but its most distinguishing mark is the curved white spot or
streak along the dorsal cilie.
a
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 199
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY
OF ONTARIO.
The annual meeting of the above society was held (by the kind
permission of the Provost) in the library of Trinity College, Toronto, on
the 23rd of September, at 3:30,p. m. ‘The reporteof the Secretary-
Treasurer was presented, showing a slight increase of membership and a
satisfactory condition of the finances, after which the President read his
annual address, which was, by request of those present, kindly placed at
the disposal of the Printing Committee for publication.
The following officers were then elected :—
President, Rev'd C. J. S. Bethune, M. A., Port Hope ; Vice-President,
R. V. Rogers, Kingston ; Secretary-Treasurer, J. H. McMechan, London ;
Council—E. Baynes Reed, W. Saunders, Rev'd G. M. Innes, J. M.
Denton, London ; G. J. Bowles. Montreal. Editor of ENromotocist,
W. Saunders. Editing Committee—Rev’d C. J. S. Bethune, M. A.; E.
Baynes Reed; J.G. Bowles. Library Committee—W. Saunders, E,
Baynes Reed, J. H. McMechan. Auditors—Chas. Chapman and J. H.
Griffiths, London.
CORRESPONDENCE.
BRIEF NOTICE OF MR. STRECKER’S LAST ISSUE (NO. Io.)
The number bears the date of May, but its issue is certainly later,
copies having been sent to subscribers in August; its exact date is
therefore uncertain. It contains brief descriptions of some supposed
new species of moths, besides its curious account of North American
Lyczenz, and pretty plate. The description of AZacreglossa fumosa is in
so far objectionable as Mr. Strecker is ignorant that all the allied species
have, on emerging from the pupa, a light clothing of scales on the pellucid
portion of the wings (see Ann. N. Y. Lyc., Vol. 8, and Lintner’s N. Y.
State Reports) which is easily brushed off.
Sphinx eremitoides is very probably S. Zugens Walk.
Catocala magdalena is C. illecta Walk. (my No. 37).
Catocala aspasia is apparently C. Arizone, the description, so far as it
goes, corresponding, with allowances for Mr. Strecker’s “scarlet” hind
wings. A. R: GROTE.
200 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
PuRCHASE OF INsEecrs.—It often happens that an Entomologist is at
a loss to procure specimens of certain rare species that he desires for
purposes of study or to complete a series in his cabinet; he has seen
them, perhaps, in the collection of a friend, or read of them in some
publication, but is unable to obtain them for himself. We are glad to
find that a provision has been made for such cases by the establishment
of the “ Philadelphia Agency” for the sale of specimens of insects ; it
is under the management of Mr. J. H. Ridings (518 South 13th Street,)
and is evidently in close connection with the American Entomological
Society. The Agency not only sells to purchasers, issuing price-lists of
species from time to time, but also receives and disposes of collections
from individuals upon commission. ‘The names, moreover, of all insects
sold by the Agency are guaranteed to be correct. We would recommend
any of our friends who desire to procure rare and beautiful specimens, to
send to the Agency for a price-list.
BOOKS REC EIW ED:
On the Noctuide of North America, by Aug. R. Grote; from the 6th Report of the Peabody Academy
of Science, Salem, Mass., 1874, pp. 18.
Descriptions of New North American Phalenide and Phyllopoda, by A. 8. Packard, jr., ibid, pp. 19.
On the Transformations of the Common House Fly, with notes on allied forms, by A, S, Packard, jr.
M.D. ; from Proc Boston Soc, Nat. Hist., Feb., 1874, pp. 16, one plate,
Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Nat. Sciences, Vol. ii, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.
Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol. xvi, part iii, Jan, & Feb,, part iv, Feb. to
April, 1874.
Report of the Department of Agriculture, Washington, June to October.
Proceedings of the Convention of the American Association of Breeders of Short Horns.
Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, October—December, 1873, and Jan.,
Feb. and March, 1874.
Report of the Council of the Agricultural and Arts Association of Ontario for 1873; Prize List of do
for 1874,
Additions to the Library of the Linnaean Society, London, Eng., pp. 25.
The Observer of Nature, Lawrence, Kansas, vol. i, Nos, 1 and 2.
Evtomology in Missouri, by Prof, C. V. Riley, from the American Naturalist, March and April, 1874...
pp. 10.
The Zoologist and Newman’s Entomologist, May to September ; from Mr, Reeks,
Science Gossip to September,
Nature to Oct. 1,
The Horticulturist, N. Y., to Aug.
The American Agriculturist to July,
The Prairie Farmer, Chicago,
The Canada Farmer, ''oronto, to July 15,
The Maine Farmer, Augusta, Me.
The Journal of Education, Toronto, to July.
The Indiana Farmer, Indianapolis,
Le Naturaliste Canadien, Quebec, to July,
Journal of Education to Sept., 1874.
{LIBRARY ,
oe sormnoB 2. é
The Canadian Entonialooist.
VOL. VI. LONDON, ONT., NOVEMBER, 1874. No. 11
ON ENTOMOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE.
BY JOHN L. LECONTE, M. D., PHILADELPHIA.
Part I—On the Law of Priority.
Im Ganzen—haltet euch an Worte ! GOETHE.*
The discussions upon the subject of nomenclature in Zoology, and
especially in the department of Entomology, have recently become very
perplexing to American students. Many who have been unable
either by want of time or lack of opportunity, to consult old works, which
are to be found in but few libraries, are called upon suddenly to decide
for themselves, whether they will or will not adopt changes in the names
of some of the most familiar and best known objects.
To all such I have but two words of advice: Res¢s¢t innovation, unless
the innovator presents to you the reasons for his proposed change, with
such force as to convince your judgment. Disregard the Mephistophelean
counsel, in the motto above cited. Use the words only to acquire and |
convey accurately your knowledge of ¢izvgs ; but never believe that the
word is superior to the thing which it represents. Thus will you avoid
scholasticism, one of the great abysses of thought into which the seeker
after truth is lable to fall.
With a view to guide the thoughts of those of my readers who have
paid heretofore but little attention to this very troublesome subject, in
such manner that they may be able to form independent opinions, I have
endeavored in this essay to place briefly before them the canons upon
which all action in regard to nomenclature are at the present time
supposed to be based. And to these canons I have appended short
* On words let your attention centre. B. Taylor’s Faust, i, i10.
302 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
commentaries on the method in which I think they should be executed,.
in order that we may arrive at permanent and unchangeable results..
These canons, as I would express them, are as follows:
1. The binominal system of nomenclature is the only one to be
recognized: one word for the genus, and another for the species, to
indicate each object.
2. Linnzeus was the author of the binominal system.
3. ‘The law of priority must be adhered to, so far as the interests of
science make it practicable.
This law renders inviolable the name of every species which has been
properly published, and the name of every genus properly defined and
exemplified by one or more species. “
4. The great number of the organic beings subjected to study
has made it necessary,in order to avoid confusion,to increase the binominal
name by adding the authority upon which the name either in whole or
part rests.
5. In the formation of new names, reference is to be had to classical
construction and to the ordinary proprieties of social intercourse.
Since the binominal system is of modern invention, being indeed
scarcely more than a century old, and was only gradually introduced even
by its author, it is obvious that none of these fundamental canons existed
in the minds of the founders of Zoology, and that the appreciation of the
necessity of such ordinances. has become apparent only in consequence
of the confusion occasioned by their non-existence.
The old codes of rules, Philosophia Botanica of Linnzeus, and its
imitation, Philosophia Entomologica of Fabricius, do not cover many of
the most perplexing cases which have since arisen under these four rules,
although, if acted on in good faith, they would have prevented much of
the confusion since produced.
Concerning the two old codes I have at present nothing to say, the
exhaustive commentary on the rules of Linnzeus in the introduction
to the Nomenclator Zoologicus of Agassiz, leaving, in fact, nothing to be ~
desired.
[t is therefore apparent that in applying the four canons, their influence
must, like all retro-active laws, commence at certain arbitrary periods, to
be determined, not by the judgment of individual investigators, but by
Syl
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 203
the same authority which fixes the principles themselves, that is: the
common consent, expressed in a more or less formal manner, of the
majority of those engaged in systematic study relating to the improvement
of classification.
Now, the 1st and 2nd canons have been already put in execution by
the rule adopted by the British Association, and reaffirmed by the
Association of American Naturalists and Geologists, as follows:
“Rule III. The Committee are of opinion, after much deliberation,
that the XIIth edition of the Systema Nature is that to which the limit
of time should apply, viz., 1766.”
This rule was adopted after much discussion regarding the respective
claims of the roth and the 12th edition to be considered as the basis of
the system, and I think for wise and sufficient reasons. However that
may be, there is no room now for individual difference of action ; it isa
law,and must be obéyed by all good citizens in the Republic of Science,
until modified or abrogated by an authority equal to that which
enacted it.
The third canon respecting the law of priority is also formulated in
several rules of the British and American code, but in such manner as to
render its application somewhat difficult. The following considerations.
seem to me of sufficient importance to require a definite decision, when
the next opportunity occurs for formal action.
1. Itis obvious, on an examination of the works of the earlier
authors in Entomology, that they.did not attach the same value to the
fixity of nomenclature that circumstances have since rendered necessary.
Linnzus changed apparently without cause several of the specific names.
from the roth to the 12th edition. | Previous to that time, he used the
generic names in different senses, in different editions, without any
explanations. Geoffroy described genera without reference to genera
previously established by Linnzeus. Fabricius did the same with regard
to Geoffroy, and alsoin some instances changed his genera from 1775 to
1787, without reason, or even reference to the earlier name.
It is not until we come to Olivier that we find in Entomology the law
of priority appearing ; and not then as a matter of principle, so much as
a courtesy due to the earlier describer.
I would therefore respectfully submit, 1st, that a rigorous application of
the law of priority to those authors who did not act in accordance with it,
will lead to much confusion; and it would probably be better, in all
204 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
doubtful cases, to restrict its operation to the time since the commencement
of Olivier’s part of the Encyclopedie Methodique, and to accept his
decision as final on all cases up to that time, in the same way that the
r2th edition of Linnzus is accepted as final on the question of binominal
nomenclature.
2. If the authors anterior to the 12th edition are ruled out because
of the imperfection of the binominal method up to that time, it would
surely be consistent to exclude those after that time who failed to recog-
nize its necessity. Species cannot, of course, be cited from them, for they
gave no specific names ;_ but I will go farther, and say that genera ought
not to be attributed to them, except so far as to quote them in synonymy
for their generic ideas, which were brought into harmony with the system
of nomenclature by subsequent authors. They will live in the literature
of the science in synonymy, but they have taken no part in the formation
of the names of the objects, by which alone we’ know them and can
speak of them, and therefore should not appear as authorities.
The proper application of the fourth canon is attended with still
greater difficulty, and I fear that the two sets of opinions regarding the
authority to be placed after the binominal name are absolutely irrecon-
cilable. The arguments in favor of the original describer of the species
on the one hand, and of the author of the binominal combination
adopted on the other hand, are equally strong, perhaps, as regards the
convenience of science, and each side has been argued with the utmost
ability. I have therefore nothing to say on the subject in the way of
argument, and suspect that for some time it must be left to the discretion
of each student to decide under which system he can work best.
Practically I do not regard it as a matter of any consequence, if each
person will destinctly declare in his work which system he uses. The
number of instances in which any confusion can resuit are few, and the
synonymy in catalogues which are always at hand will at once resolve the
doubt.
I may be permitted to observe, however, that clearer views of the
respective merits of the two methods would prevail, and possibly even
some harmonious result more speedily be obtained, if the arguments
involved less discussion of purely personal interests. It would seem from
some expressions of opinion I have seen, but which I forbear to refer to
more definitely, that there are those that believe that one main object of
descriptive natural history is to give the authors a sort of proprietary
Je
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 205
interest in the species to which they affix names. The two methods of
reference to authors would lead, therefore, on the one hand, to hasty and
vague descriptions of species, on the other to arbitrary and unnecessary
changes in genera. Such ideas are really aspersions on the motives-of
the great professors of unremunerative labor, upon whom science chiefly
depends for her advancement. The good and true laborers are many ;
the small and mean minds, who feel honored at being quoted even in |
synonymy, are few. _I think, therefore, that the harm to be done by |
adhering to either of the two methods is greatly exaggerated.
I would prefer to believe that the somewhat passionate line of argu-
ment occasionally indulged in, arises'rather from a mental fault which is
too common in this age, which prevails in all classes and in all pursuits
—the undue importance given to the claiming of supposed rights, over
the performance of fixed and definite duties. Of clamor for rights, even
in countries where there is no cppressing class, we hear a great deal; of
appeals for the rigid keeping of obligations we hear very little.
It ts the privilege, with the facilities for publication now afforded by
learned societies, of every careful observer of nature to contribute valuable
material for the progress of the branch of science which he is capable of
cultivating. J/¢ 72s his duty to put his contributions to knowledge in such
a form as to be most easily available to his brothers in science. Whether
his name remains connected permanently with his observation or not is a
matter of small importance; he has done his duty in increasing the
power of work of his colleagues.
In this connection I would observe that it is only in descriptive
Natural History, the lowest and.most routine work that a man of science
has to perform, that any association of names with results is possible. In
all other and higher departments of knowledge, such as Newton with
gravitation, Young with light, Franklin with atmospheric electricity,
Faraday, Henry, Arago, Ampere and Jacobi with dynamical electricity,
Agassiz with glacial action ; or, to exemplify from our own departments,
Linnzeus, Jussieu, Cuvier and Geoffroy, all these men are historically eminent
for their labors, far more than for attaching their names to the objects of their
study. With suchexamples of high and honest effort,to be imitated byus in
proportion to our respective abilities, it is surely an ignoble ambition, and
certainly an uncommon one, that would aim at distinction by having the
name printed in association with a weed, or a bug, or a bone.
The multitude of new objects is the great curse of Natural History
at the present time. When they are nearly all described and named, so
206 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
that they may be recognized, a period of more rapid and healthy progress
willcommence. ‘The attention of the lovers of nature will then be free
to observe the habits and to study more minutely the structure of the
different species. Classification and economic science will advance
together to the perfection which will reward the future students.
One more subject remains to be treated, and I have done. It is one
that I approach with hesitation, and even with pain. The recom-
mendations contained in the British American Code, for the future
guidance of naturalists in respect to nomenclature, are carefully drawn;and
if faithfully and prudently regarded, would leave nothing to be desired.
Unfortunately, under the influence of personal peculiarities, the excite-
ment of political struggles, or the uncongeniality of religious associations,
the contributors to scientific literature are sometimes led to forget the laws
of good breeding, which are binding upon all civilized men, and should
be particularly so upon those addicted to so ncble a pursuit as the study
of nature.
Under these exaltations of brain, names are sometimes proposed
which are offensive* in the highest degree. It is useless to reason with
such persons on the impropriety of their conduct, or the irrelevancy of
proclaiming opinions which have no place in science, for their minds are
occluded against all such appeals to their better nature. What shall be
done with such names? It is a question which concerns not only the
systematist, but every collector, every writer, indeed, wlio may have
occasion to use an illustration from Natural History. I therefore invite
the fullest and most democratic expression of opinion.
INSECTS AND FLOwERS.—I have observed this spring that the. bees
extract honey from the flowers of the [Vzsterza by drilling a hole through
the calyx. I have seen the big bumble-bees drilling the holes, and the
honey-bees making use of these holes. Whether the latter have strength
to bore the holes I am not sure; but it is curious that they should not
treat the honeysuckle in the same way. It would be easier to pierce the
corolla of that flower than the tough calyx of Wisteria, and it would yield
a more abundant supply of nectar. No doubt there is some reason why
they do not, and perhaps you can inform me what it is.—C. 7! zx Science
Gossip.
* [The author here evidently alludes to such names as Pleocoma Staff, Eudae-
monia Jehovah and others of the same nature. |]
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 207
_ — ————— $$$
ON THE INSECTS .MORE PARTICULARLY ASSOCIATED
WITH SARRACENIA VARIOLARIS (Spotted Trumpet-Leaf.)*
BY CHAS. V. RILEY, ST. LOUIS, MO.
The insect-catching powers of those curious plants, the Fly-traps
({Dionea), the Sun-dews (Drosera) and the Trumpet-leaves (Sarracenia)
have always attracted the attention of the curious, but renewed interest
has been awakened in them by virtue of the interesting experiments and
Observations on their structure, habit and function, that have lately been
recorded, and especially by the summing up of these observations in some
charming papers by Prof. Asa Gray, which recently appeared in Zhe
Nation and The New York Tribune, under the title of ‘“ Insectivorous
Plants.”
Through the courtesy of Dr. J. H. Mellichamp, of Bluffton, and of
HH. W. Ravenel, of Aiken, S. C., who have sent me abundant material, I
am able to submit the following notes of an entomological bearing, on
the Spotted Trumpet-leaf (Sarracenia variolaris), which must henceforth
rank with the plants of the other genera mentioned as a consummate
ansect catcher and devourer.
The leaf of Sarracenia is, briefly, a trumpet-shaped tube, with an
arched lid, covering, more or less completely, the mouth. The inner
surface, from the mouth to about midway down the funnel, is covered
with a compact, decurved pubescence, which is perfectly smooth and
velvety to the touch, especially as the finger passes downward. From
midway it is beset with retrorse bristles, which gradually increase in size
till within a short distance of the bottom, where they suddenly cease, and
the surface is smooth. There are also similar bristles under the lid.
Running up the front of the trumpet is a broad wing with a hardened or
ventral side border, parting at the top and extending around the rim.
Along this border, as Dr. Mellichamp discovered, but especially for a
short distance inside the mouth, and less conspicuously inside the lid,
there exude drops of a sweetened, viscid fluid, which, as the leaf matures,
ds replaced by a white, papery, tasteless, or but slightly sweetened sedi-
ment or efflorescence ; while at the smooth bottom of the pitcher is
secreted a limpid fluid possessing toxic or inebriating qualities.
* Read before the American Assuciation for the Advancement of Science, at
the late meeting at Hartford.
208 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
The sects which meet their death in this fluid are numerous and of
all orders. Ants are the principal victims, and the acidulous properties
which their decomposing bodies give to the liquid doubtless render it all
the more potent as a solvent. Scarcely any other Hymenoptera are found
in the rotting mass, and it is an interesting fact that Dr. Mellichamp.-
never found the little nectar-loving bee or other Mellifera about the
plants. On one occasion only have I found in the pitcher the recogniz-
able remains of a Svombus, and on one occasion only has he found the
honey-bee captured. Species belonging to all the other orders are
captured, and among the larger species that I have most commonly met
with, which, from the toughness of their chitinous integument, resist
disorganization and remain recognizable, may be mentioned Asaphes
memnonius and Luryomia melancholica among Coleoptera, Pcntatoma
lugens and Orsilochus variabilis, var. complicatus among Heteroptera ; while
katydids, locusts, crickets, cockroaches, flies, moths, and even butterflies,
and some Arachidna and Myriapoda, in a more or less irrecognizable
condition, frequently help to swell the unsavory mass.
But while these insects are decoyed and macerated in order, as we
may naturally infer, to help support the destroyer, there are, nevertheless,
two species which are proof against its siren influences and which, in
turn, oblige it either directly or indirectly to support them.
The first is Xauthoptera semicrocea Guen., a little glossy moth, which
may be popularly called the Sarracenia moth. It is strikingly marked
Fig. 25. with gray-black and straw-yellow, the colors
being sharply separated across the shoulders.
and the middle of the front wings. This.
little moth walks with perfect impunity over
the inner surface of the pitcher, which proves.
so treacherous to so many other insects. It
is frequently found in pairs within the
pitchers soon after these open, in the early
part of the season or about the end of
April. The female lays her eggs singly, near
See Beans Coagiavantai thie the mouth of the pitcher, and the young
enlarged, the natural size indicated at larva, from the moment of hatching, spins
PARDO hati emeretttieuar for itself a carpet of silk, and very soon
Wb eed ee locas up the mouth by drawing the rims.
together and covering them with a delicate, gossamer-like web, which
effectually debars all small outside intruders. It then frets the leaf
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 209
within, commencing under the hood and feeding dcwnward on the cellular
tissue, leaving only the epidermis. _As it proceeds, the lower part of the
pitcher above the putrescent insect collection becomes packed with
ochreous excrementitious droppings, and by the time the worm has
attained its full size the pitcher above these droppings generally collapses.
This worm, when full grown, is beautifully banded transversely with
white and purple or lake red. which Dr. Mellichamp poetically likens in
brightness to the Tyrian dye. It is furthermore characterized by rows of
tubercles, which are especially prominent on the four larger legless joints.
It is a half looper, having but six prolegs, and keeps up, in travelling, a
constant, restless, wavering motion of the head and thoracic joints,
recalling paralysis agitans. The chrysalis is formed in a very slight
cocoon, usually just above or within the packed excrement. The species,
kindly determined by Mr. A. R. Grote, was many years ago figured by
Abbot, who found it feeding on Sarracenia variolaris, in Georgia. Guenée’s
descriptions were made from these figures, for which reason I have made
some descriptive notes from the living material.* The species feeds alike
on S. variolaris and S. flava, and there are at least two broods each
year, the first brood of larve being found during the early part of May,
the second toward the end of June, and disappearing with the dying of
the leaves.
The second species is a still more invariable living accompaniment of
both kinds of Sarracenia mentioned. By the time the whitish efflorescence
shows around the mouth of the We 20
pitcher, the moist and macerated
insect remains at the bottom will be
found to almost invariably contain
a single whitish, legless grub or
“gentle,” about as large round as
a goosequill, tapering to the retrac-
Mie. head. which, .is,iornished. math, |. 9): ideale ‘scnmitientd elas: eae
two curved, black, sharp hooks, c, fly, the hair lines showing average natural
lengths ; d,enlarged head and first joint of larva,
truncated and concave at the pos- showing curved hooks, lower lip (g), and pro-
thoracic spiracle ; e, end of body of same, show-
terior end of the body. ing stigmata (7) and prolegs and vent ; /), tarsal
claws of fly with protecting pads ; 7, antenna of
same. All enlarged.
This worm riots in the putrid insect remains, and when fed upon them
to repletion, bores through the leaf just above the petiole and burrows
* These will be found in the Transactions of the St. Louis Academy of Science.
O10 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
into the ground. Here it contracts to the pupa state, and in a few days
issues as a large two-winged fly, which I have described (vc. cit.) as
Sarcophaga sarracenie—the Sarracenia Flesh-fly.
The immense prolificacy of the flesh-flies, and the fact that the young
are hatched in the ovaries of the parent before they are deposited by her
on tainted meat and other decomposing or strong-smelling substances,
have long been known to entomologists, as has also the rapid develop-
ment of the species. The viviparous habit among the Muscide is far
more common than is generally supposed, and I have even known it to
occur with the common house-fly, which normally lays eggs. _It is also
possessed by some (stridae, as I have shown in treating of @strus ovis,
the Sheep Bot-fly,*
But the propensity of the larve for killing one another, and their
ability to adapt themselves to different conditions of food supply are not
sufficiently appreciated. I have long since known, from extensive rearing
of parasitic Tachinide, that when, as is often the case, a half dozen or
more eggs are fastened to some caterpillar victim only large enough to
nourish one to maturity, that they all hatch and commence upon their
common prey, but that the weaker eventually succumb to the strongest
and oldest one, which finds the juices of his less fortunate brethren as
much to his taste as those of the victimized caterpillar. Or, again, that
where the food supply is limited in quantity, as it often is and must be
with insects whose larvee are parasitic or sarcophagus, such larvae have a
far greater power of adapting themselves to the conditions in which they
find themselves placed, than have herbivorous species under like circum-
stances.
30th these characteristics are strongly illustrated in Sarcophaga
sarraceniue, Several larvae, and often upward of a dozen, are generally
dropped by the parent fly within the pitcher ; yet a fratricidal warfare is
waged until usually but one matures, even where there appears macerated
food enough for several. And if the Xanthoptera larva closes up the
mouth of the pitcher ere a sufficient supply of insects have been captured
to properly nourish it, this Sarcophaga larva will nevertheless undergo its
transformations, though it sometimes has not strength enough to bore its
way out, and the diminutive fly escapes from the puparium, only to find
itself a prisoner unless deliverance comes in the rupture or perforation of
the pitcher by the moth larva or by other means. This rupturing of the
* Ist Mo., Ent. Rep., p. 165.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. ZT
pitcher does not unfrequently take place, for Dr. Mellichamp writes under
-date of June 27, as follows: ‘‘ Most old leaves now examined—I might
almost say all-—instead of being bored, seem ripped or torn, as if by
violence, apparently from without. You see occasionally shreds of the
leaf hanging. Surely the legless larva of Sarcophaga cannot do this !
What then—toads, or frogs, or crawfish abounding in these moist, pine.
lands? or rather is not the fat maggot the occasion of the visits of the
quail, which lately I have observed here ?” ;
These two insects are the only species of any size that can invade the
-death-dealing trap with impunity while the leaf is in full vigor, and the
only other species which seem at home in the leaf are a minute pale mite
belonging apparently to HYolothyrus in the Gamaside, and which may
quite commonly be found crawling within the pitcher; and a small Lepi-
-dopterous leaf-miner, which I have not succeeded in rearing. There
must, however, be a fifth species, which effectually braves the dangers of
the bottom of the pit, for the pupa of Sarcophaga is sometimes crowded
with a little Chalcid parasite, the parent of which must have sought her
victim while it was rioting there as larva.
No other insect, so far as we now know, can crawl up the slippery
belt, but tumble into the tube and there meet their death.
Certain questions very naturally present themselves here: First,
What gives the flesh-fly more secure foothold on the slippery pubescence
than the common house-fly exhibits? Second, What enables the larva
of the flesh-fly to withstand the solvent property of the fluid which
destroys so many other insects? ‘Third, What gives the Sarracenia moth
and its larva similar security? I can only offer, in answer, the following
suggestions: ‘The last joint of the tarsus of the common house-fly has
two movable, sharp-pointed claws, and a pair of pads or “ pulvill.” These
pads were formerly supposed to operate as suckers, and all sorts of
sensational accounts of this wonderful sucker have been given by popular
writers, who forgot that there are any number of minute insects having no
“such tarsal apparatus, which are equally indifferent to the laws of gravita-
tion so far as walking on smooth, upright surfaces, or on the ceiling, is
concerned. In reality, these pads are thickly beset on the lower surface
with short hairs, most of which terminate in a minute expansion kept
continually moist by an exuding fluid—a sort of perspiration. ‘Take the
soft human hand, moistened by perspiration or other means, and draw it,
with slight pressure, first over a piece of glass or other highly-polished
surface, and then over something that has a rougher surface, such as a
212 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST
planed board, a papered wall, or a velvety fabric, and you will experience:
much greater adhesion to the smoother objects, and may understand the
important part which these moist pads play in the locomotion of the fly.
They also act, in part, like the cushions of a cat’s paw in protecting and
preventing abrasion of the claws, which are very useful on the rougher
surfaces, where the pads are less serviceable.
Now, compared with AZusca domestica, the claws of Sarcophaga sarra-
cenié are much the longest and strongest, and the pads much the largest,
presenting three or four times the surface. These differences are, I think,
sufficient to explain the fact that while the common fly walks with
slippery and unsteady gait on the smooth pubescence (the retrorse nature
of this pubescence sufficiently explaining the downward tendency of the
movement), its sarcophagus congener manages to get a more secure
footing ; for not only does the latter present a larger adhesive surface, but
the longer claws are more likely to reach beyond the pubescence and the
bristles, and fasten to the cellular tissue of the leaf beyond. Moreover,
Sarcophaga is more thickly beset with stiff, spinous bristles than Musca,
and Dr. Mellichamp says that when disturbed it buzzes violently about,
just as if an animated sheep-bur had fallen into the tube—not apt to go
down, because it will hitch and stick, and finaily, by main force, it
generally emerges, but once in a while also succumbs.
In answer to the second question I can only say that there is nothing
exceptional in the power of the larva to withstand the solvent quality of
the fluid ; it is, on the contrary, in accordance with the facts known of
many species of Muscide and (stride, some of which, like the well-known
horse bot, revel in a bath of chyme, while others. are at easé in the
intestinal heat of other warm-blooded animals. It is also well known that
they will often live for hours in strong liquids, such as alcohol and tur-
pentine.
In answer to the third question, the meth is doubtless assisted in
walking within the tube by the spines and spurs on the legs, which it, in
common with most other moths, possesses—the tarsi in Xanthoptera
being armed with spines, and the spurs being quite long, and in se/mécrocea
usually shod at tip with a corneous point. Its larva overcomes the
treacherous surface by either carpeting it with silk or destroying it.
CONCLUSION.
To one accustomed to seek the why and wherefore of things, the
inquiry very naturally arises as to whether Xanthoptera and Sarcophaga
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 213
play any necessary or important role in the economy of Sarracenia.
Speaking of the Sarcophaga larva, Mr. Ravenel asks, ‘‘ May he not do
some service to Sarracenia as Pronuba does to Yucca?” And if so, may
not all this structure for the destruction of insects be primarily for his
benefit? Can he be merely an intruder, sharing the store of provision
which the plant, by ingenious contrivance, has secured for itself, or is hea
welcome inmate and profitable tenant? Self-fertilization does not take
place in Sarracenia, and the possibility that the bristly flesh-fly aids in the
important act of pollination, lends interest to the facts. No one has
witnessed with greater pleasure than myself the impulse which Darwin
has of late years given to such inquiries ; but we should be cautious lest
the speculative spirit impair our judgments or ability to read the simple
lesson of the facts. My own conclusions summed up are :
First: There is no reason to doubt, but every reason to believe, since
the observations of Dr. Mellichamp, that Sarracenia is a truly insectivorous
plant, and that by its secretions and structure it is eminently fitted to
capture its prey.
Second: ‘That those insects most easily digested (if I may use the
term), and most useful to the plant, are principally ants and small flies,
which are lured to their graves by the honeyed path, and that most of the
larger insects, which are not attracted by sweets, get in by accident and
fall victims to the peculiar mechanical structure of the leaf.
Third: hat the only benefit to the plant is from the liquid manure
resulting from the putrescent captured insects.
[Mr. Ravenel, in making a transverse section near the base of the
young leaf, noticed large tubular cells passing down through the petiole
into the root, and much of the liquid manure ile possibly pass through
these into the root stalk. ]
Fourth: That Sarcophaga is a mere intruder, the larva sponging on
and sharing the food obtained by the plant, and the fly attracted thither
by the strong odor, as it is to all putrescent animal matter or to other
plants, like Stapelia variegata, which give forth a similar odor. There is
nothing to prove that it has anything to do with pollination, and the only
insect that Dr. Mellichamp has observed about the flowers with any
frequency, isa Cetonid beetle—the Euryomia melancholica, which, with
other species of its genus, is commonly found on many different flowers.
Fifth: That Xanthoptera has no other connection with the plant than
that of a destroyer, though its greatest injury is done after the leaf has
rf
OLA THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
performed its most important functions. Almost every plant has its.
peculiar insect enemy, and Sarracenia, with all its‘dangers to insect life
generally, is no exception to the rule.
Szxth: That neither the moth nor the fly have any structure peculiar
to them that enables them to brave the dangers of the plant, beyond.
what many other allied species possess.
PRELIMINARY CATALOGUE OF THE NOCTUIDZ# OF
CALIFORNIA.
Partglf
BY AUG. R. GROTE,
Curator of Articulata, Buffalo Soc. of Natural Sciences.
To. Asgrotis Cochranii Riley. (See ante p. 155).
‘The specimens are hardly to be distinguished from Eastern material ;.
they are perhaps a little larger, and of a little different tone of color. My
determination of this species as Zycarum H.-S., based on a figure, is.
probably incorrect. It seems possible that Harris has described A.
Cochranii under the name messoria, which should then be retained. More
material of A. fuscigerus (ante No. 15) shows that this is a good but
variable species, both in size and color. There is always a uniformity in
the disposition of the ground tint over the primaries above, and usually
the broad inner lunulations of the t. p. line and the median shade are
characteristic. | Some specimens have the hind wings of a pale yellowish
testaceous, with double subterminal shade lines visible.
19. Dianthoecia niveiguttata (Grote). (Ante p. 156.)
In my 2 specimen the ovipositor is apparently broken off.
28. Agrotis alternata Grote.
Mendocino, Mr. Behrens, June. Nos. 4 and 164. The California
specimens vary in distinctness of the markings on the forewings as well
as in the general color. One has the primaries entirely plain and uni-
colorus. I do not think there are grounds for suspecting a different
species.
> ke
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 915
29. Asgrotis innotabilis Grote, Proc. Ac. N. Sci., Phil., 1874.
Sauzalito, Mr. Behrens, August.
jo. Duanthoecia pensilis Grote, Proc. Ac. N. Sci., Phil., 1874.
Sauzalito, Mr. Behrens, Aug., Sept. r1th, Nov., both sexes. Nos. 181
and 183, 123, 147. The specimens are less brightly gray than those
from Victoria. The male has the primaries more uniformly broken up:
with reddish. The white shade above internal angle is indicated by the
pallor of an angulation of the subterminal line.
32. Hadena arctica (Boisd.), Bull. B. S. N.S., 1, p. 42.
Sierra Nevada, Hy. Edwards, Esq., No. 3513.
32. Hadena Bridghami (G. & BR.) 1. c. p. 142.
Sierra Nevada, Hy. Edwards, Esq., No. 3510. —
33. Hadena devastator (Brace.)
California, Hy. Edwards, Esq. Mr. Behrens, No. 193.
34. Hadena lateritia (Hubn.) This is A. dubitans Walk., of my ‘ List.
Sierra Nevada, Hy. Edwards, Esq., No. 3512.
35. Hadena genialis Grote, List N. Am. Noct., p. 66.
California, Mr. Behrens, Nos. 7 and 64.
36. Hadena castanca Grote, Bull. B.S. N.S., 2, p. 156.
California, Mr. Behrens, No. to (red label). .
37. fadena albina Grote, |. c. p. 157.
California, Mr. Behrens ; Sauzalito, May 15th, No. 78.
38. Hadenacurvata Grote, |. c. p. 157.
California, Mr. Behrens, Nos. 70 and 99. °
39. HHadena divesta Grote.
A moderate, slender bodied species, resembling somewhat in its colors
Dianthoecia pensilis. Eyes naked; abdomen strongly tufted dorsally.
Fore wings dark gray, with the basal field shaded with carneous ochrey ;
a patch above the submedian dash and extending between the spots, and
the subterminal line shaded with the same color. There is a narrow black
basal ray. Ordinary spots large and wide, concolorus, the blackish median
shade marked on costal region between them. Median space wide, owing
916 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
/
to the outward removal of the t. p. line; the latter somewhat as in
curvata, but much more removed beyond the reniform. TT. jp. line
angulated opposite the cell, geminate, even in its course, its inner line
forming a regular series of slight lunulations; the filling in of the line
becomes white inferiorly. Subterminal line preceded medially by cunei-
form black marks. Hind wings fuscous, darker outwardly, with a
transverse shade line without the middle. | Beneath fuscous, with even
common line and discal spots.
Expanse32m.m. Sauzalito, Aug. 12th, Mr. James Behrens, No. 145.
40. Hadena marina Grote, List N. Am. Noct., p. 67.
California, Mr. Behrens, No. 68.
4I. ftadena flava Grote, Trans. Am. Ent. Soc., 5.
Victoria, Mr. Crotch ; Colorado, Mr. Mead.
42. Morrisonia peracuta Morr., Bull. B.S. N.S., 2, p. 114.
California ?
43. Lupsephopaectes procinctus Grote, Bull. B. S. N.S., 1, p. 138, pl.
4, fig. 6.
California, Hy. Edwards, Esq., No. 73; Mr. Behrens.
44. Hydroecia nictitans var. erythrostigma (Haw.)
California, Mr. Behrens, July 30th, No. 165.
45. Ochria sauzalite Grote.
Sauzalito, September 17th, Mr. Behrens, No. 161 ; Hy. Edwards, Esq.
NO. 125.
This species has a distinct clypeal tubercle, and is therefore congeneric
with the European flavago. It belongs to Gortyna of Lederer, but not
of Hubner, whose genus is equivalent to Hydrecia ““B” of Lederer,
For the European flavago, I have shown that Ochria Hubn. must be
retained. I have separated Aydracia ‘“‘ A.” of Lederer under Guenée’s
name, butI am of opinion that for this genus, of which the type is
nictitans, the term Afamca must be retained. It is not a little singular
that the species which most nearly resembles /favago in America, viz.,
cataphracta Grote, should have no clypeal tubercle, and therefore must be
referred to a different genus. In my “ List” I have erroneously referred
Gortyna purpurifascia, an Eastern species without the tubercle, to Ochrza,
which, so far should only contain O. sauzalite. The Cal. species differs,
,) (aay —
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. raw
oo a eS ee ee a ——
from G, purpurifascia by the t. p. line being slightly arcuate superiorly.
In size and ornamentation the Californian species rather resembles ru¢z/a,
which wants the tubercle.
46. Admetovis oxymorus Grote, Bul. B.S. N.S., 1, p. 133, pl. 4, fig. 5.
Sierra Nevada, Hy. Edwards, Esq., No. 2733.
47. Heliophila pallens [Linn].
California, Mr. Behrens, No. ro [red label].
48. Heliophila phragmitidicola {[Guenee].
Sauzalito, Sept. 25th, Mr. Behrens, No. 169.
49. Ufeus plicatus Grote, Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H., 16, p. 241.
California, No. 4414; Hy. Edwards, Esq.
50. Zosteropoda hirtipes Grote, List N. Am. Noct., p. 68.
California, Hy. Edwards, Esq., No. 3484.
MICRO - LEPIDOPTERA.
BY V. T. CHAMBERS, COVINGTON, KENTUCKY,
(Continued from page 198.)
ASPIDISCA.
A. diospyriella. NN. sp.
This species was bred from minute mines in the leaves of Persimmon
trees (Diospyros virginiana), gathered in great abundance at the ‘“‘ Bee
Spring” camp of the Kentucky Geological Survey, in Edmondson
County, a few miles west of the Mammoth Cave. I have never met with
it in Northern Kentucky, where the Persimmon tree also grows, but is
comparatively rare.
Head and thorax, and a little more than the basal halt of the primaries
pale leaden gray, with a metallic, almost silvery lustre ; antennae fuscous
above, silvery fuscous below ; just behind the middle of the wing are twe
id
}
918 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
silvery streaks, one on the costal and one on the dorsal margin, the latter
a very little before the former, and both strongly dark margined before and
behind, their anterior dark margins meeting just behind the middle of the
wing, where they are somewhat posteriorly angulated. ‘The silvery streaks
are not confluent, being separated by the anterior point of a dark brown
dorsal patch, placed behind the dorsal streak. ‘This dark brown dorsal
patch is common to all species of the genus now known, and in all of
them it forms the posterior margin of dorsal silvery streak, and becomes
confluent with the posterior dark margin of the costal streak also; the
anterior dark margins of both silvery streaks are margined faintly before
with pale golden, much less distinct and covering much less space than
in splendoriferella ; behind the posterior dark margin of the costal streak
isa small golden patch, as in sflendoriferedla, containing a small black
dorsal streak (or, perhaps more correctly, margined by it.) In perfect
fresh specimens of sflendorifered/a the extreme costa in this golden spot is
always more or less streaked longitudinally with dark brown scales ; these
dark brown streaks are absent in this species, and besides, in splendoriferella
the anterior dark margins of the costal and dorsal silvery streaks are not
confluent and posteriorly angulated as in this species, but are separated
by a narrow golden line, which is carried backwards between the silvery
streaks themselves, thus connecting the golden patch before the streaks
with the costal golden spot behind the streaks; in this species they are
not so connected. Mr. Stainton,ina note on splendorifcrel/a, in his edition
of the Clemens papers, states that the silvery costal and dorsal streaks
are confluent in that species. I have never found them so, but always
under a good lens I find them separated by the narrow golden line as
above stated. In splendoriferetla the dark brown dorsal spot is separated
from the fan-shaped apical spot by a narrow projection of the costal golden
spot, which extends to a small spot of silvery scales on the dorsal edge
of the apical spot; but in this species this golden projection is only
represented by a small golden spot, which is separated from the costal
golden one by a narrow blackish line, which extends from the brown
dorsal spot to a small silvery spot at the beginning of the fan-shaped
apical spot. As inall the other species, there is also a small silvery spot
on the costal side of the fan-shaped apical brown patch, as well as one
on the dorsal side, and the one at its beginning. The fan-shaped apical
brown patch is traversed across its middle (between the two silvery spots}
by a streak of paler brown, thus dividing it into two velvety black
(rather than brown) spots. As in sflendoriferela, there is a narrow brown
NS eg et
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 219
jine from the apex of the wing to the apex of the ciliae, and as in that
species, the ciliae are yellowish rather than yellowish brown, as Dr.
Clemens describes them. Dr. Clemens’ statement that in sflendoriferella
there is a black apical spot, with metallic scales, in its centre, also
seems to me misleading ; there is only the fan-shaped apical black spot
divided across its centre by a paler brown streak, at each end of which is
a minute speck of silvery scales, and there is the third one at the
beginning or handle of the fan-shaped spot—and this is true of all the
species. I have not been able to detect separate from the brown dorsal
patch what Dr. Clemens calls ‘‘a blackish brown hinder marginal line in
the ciliae” in sflendoriferella, unless by it is meant the brown band which
-crosses the fan-shaped spot ;_ but by careful observation with a lens, two
such lines may be found in the dorsal brown patch, darker than the
surrounding portions, but which I have not been able to detect in
diospyriedla. The basal portion of the wing is more silvery than in
splendoriferella, and the apical portion is much less golden, so that in this
species the dark brown and silvery hues prevail over the golden, while
Dr. Clemens was perhaps right in calling golden the ground color of the
apical part of the wing in sflendoriferella.
In juglandiella the apical part of the wing is more golden than in
diospyriella, but less so than in splendoriferella. It has, like diospyriella,
the anterior dark margins of the two silvery streaks confluent, and the
silvery streaks are separated in juglandiel/a as just described in dospyriella
But, as in splendoriferella, the golden costal patch sends off towards the
dorsal ciliae and / the little silver spot which on that side margins the
fan-shaped spot, a short streak which is not cut off from the rest of the
golden patch by a process from the costal brown spot to the fan-shaped
spot, as we have seen is the case with diospyriclla. The case of juglan-
diella, like that of diospyriel/a,is nearly oval, whilst that of splendoriferella
is rather trapezoidal. But juglandiella is but little smaller than
splendoriferella, whilst diospyriella is but little larger than sa/ccifoliella
Some of the points of difference that I have mentioned are only brought
out by the use of the compound microscope.
Considering the near relationship of the food plants (Walnut and
Hickory), it is strange that I have not sooner thought that juglandiella
may be /ucifiuella Clem. It may be, though I have not been able to
recognize it in Dr. Clemens’ description. Indeed, it seems to me that
lucifiuella and A. ella are nearer to each cther, though I have not been
able to recognize A. ela in Dr. Clemens’ description of Zuciffuella. 1
220 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST
am, however, satisfied that A. e/a must either be Zucifuella or the unknown:
species which mines Ostrya leaves. I have bred ela frequently from
cases found adhering to various trees, but I have not been able to breed
either the Hickory species (/uciffuella) or the unknown Ostrya species.
A. cella must be one of these, because the thoroughness of my search
satisfies me that there are no other mines of this genus to be found in
this region, except those of sf/endoriferella and saticiella, which are~
sufficiently distinct, and both of which I have bred. If juglandiella is
lucifluela, then ella must be the Ostrya miner. Splendoriferella is
decidedly the largest species that I have seen, but Dr. Clemens states
that Zvciffuella is a little larger than it. This, however, is probably a
mistake, as the cases that I have seen of Zucifluella are even smaller than
those of splendoriferella, and very greatly resemble those of A. e/a, while
also the vegetable hairs on the cases of A. e/a appear to be identical
with those on Hickory leaves.
The minute size of diospyriella is one of the strongest reasons for
considering it a distinct species. AZ. ex. a» inch.
MISCELLANEOUS.
DRYOCAMPA RUBICUNDA.—About four or five years ago I found a dead
male specimen of this rare moth under an apple tree in our garden, and
although a good deal rubbed, it was perfectly recognizable. This is, I
am informed, the only instance of this moth having been taken in this
city—H. H. Lyman, Montreal, P. Q.
Dr. A. S. Packarp, of Salem, Mass., is about to publish his long
projected monograph of Geometrid moths, and designs giving a figure of -
each species. To make the work as complete as possible, specimens of
this family are earnestly desired for study, and will be carefully returned,
or other specimens sent in exchange.
DEATH OF Francis WALKER.—We have just received the sad
intelligence of the death of this distinguished Entomologist, who died at
his residence, Elm Hall, Wanstead, on the 5th of October. A more
extended notice of him will appear in our next.
Che Canadian Entomologist,
VOL. VI. LONDON, ONT., DECEMBER, 1874. No. 12
THE LARVZ OF DEPRESSARIA DUBITELLA AND
GELECHIA RUBENSELLA.
BY MARY E. MURTFELDT, KIRKWOOD, MO.
Being much interested in the Tineide, Mr. Chambers’ articles on this
family of moths are the first to receive attention as the successive numbers
of your magazine come to hand.
I have had the satisfaction of rearing from their larvae many of the
winged gems described in your pages, among others the two species named
above. Now, as Mr. C. seems to have been in some doubt as to his own
determination of these species, of which he has as yet—as he informs me
—seen only the imagines, it occurs to me that a description of their larval
characteristics might afford some aid in deciding the doubtful points.
The larva of Depressaria (Gelechia) dubitella Cham. is very character-
istic and beautiful. It may be found during the months of July and
August on Ambrosia artemisiefolia, concealed in a fusiform case, which it
constructs by drawing together the pinnatifid divisions of the leaf = I
think it forms but a single case, which at first consists of but two divisions
of the leaf drawn together with silken threads. As it increases in size, its
domicile is enlarged by the incorporation of other lobes of the leaf. It is
always to be found in its case in the daytime, and probably emerges only
at night to feed.
This larva is rather more than half an inch in length, elongate and
slightly flattened. Head horizontal, semi-elliptical, highly polished jet
black. First segment horny, black and polished like the head. Second
segment, anterior half ve/vety black, posterior half ivory white, ornamented
above with five linear black marks, extending longitudinally backward ; the
dorsal and sub-dorsal ones do not reach to the posterior edge of the
segment, while the lateral lines, above the stigmata, do. The remaining
segments are of a translucent white color, varying from pearly to yellowish.
They are marked with three faint, longitudinal, brown lines and with a few
222 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
minute, black, piliferous spots, each of which gives rise to a single, short,
fine hair. Venter of the thoracic segments and thoracic legs black ;_ pro-
legs and under surface of abdominal segments whitish. The change to-
pupa usually takes place within the larval case. Chrysalis slender, smooth,
bright reddish brown, except the head and wing sheaths, which are much
darker. Mr. Riley once brought me a leaf-folding larva on Hackberry,
which resembled these Ambrosia case-makers in every respect, but as I did
not succeed in obtaining the imago from it, I am unable to say whet aens or
not the insects were identical.
In my specimens of duditelfa the purple-brown of the anterior wings.
is marked with four ochreous spots, instead of ¢hree, as in Mr.
Chambers’ description, and the hind wings are more nearly gray than
fuscous.
There is another leaf-folding larva of the same size and habit of D.
dubitella, which also feeds on Ambrosia artemistefolia, and which is even
more elegantly marked in black and white than the latter. This insect,
which I take to be a true but undescribed Gelechia, I may, perhaps,
describe in a future paper. I would respectfully propose for it the name
of Chambersella.
The larva of G. rubensella is an external feeder on Oak. It inhabits a
thin web at the base or near the tip of the leaf, and skeletonizes the upper
surface of the latter. Its length is rather more than 3@ of an inch. In
form it is elongate and sub-cylindrical, tapering anteriorly and posteriorly
from the middle, and has the sutures deep. The color is grass green,
striped with numerous very fine longitudinal lines of purple, and ornamented
with two sub-dorsal rows of conspicuous purple spots, situated at the
sutures. | Head horizontal, pale brown, pointed toward the jaws with two
irregular whitish dashes on each side. Legs and prolegs pale green—the
latter very narrow. ‘This pretty larva is as characteristic in its habits as in
its appearance. It does not touch the leaf except when feeding, but
remains suspended in a sort of gallery of delicate web-work, through which
it moves with surprising rapidity. It changes to pupa within a frail
cocoon, on the surface of the ground. The chrysalis is pale brown, slender
and chiefly characterized by long, free wing sheaths. | The moth issues in
about ten days. In its perfect state this insect bears so close a resemblance
to G. roseosuffusella Clem., that it is difficult to distinguish it from the
latter. It is, however, as a rule, smaller, darker and more roseate, while
the larva is entirely different, that of G. roscosuffusclla mining the leaves
of Clover, and being much less strikingly marked.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 92S
ON ENTOMOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE.
BY JOHN L. LECONTE, M. D., PHILADELPHIA.
Part IT.—On Generic, Types.
“ Tonorato genere proprio, nulla descriptio, quamvis accurate tradita
certum demonstret ; sed plerumque fallat.”—Casa.p. apud Linn., Syst-
Mat. x, 1, 13.
In the first part of this essay I endeavored to show the confusion
which resulted from the application of the law of priority to the names.
employed in the early development of our science by persons who had
no idea corresponding to the law which has since been formulated.
We will now attempt to discuss the second great fallacy in the exegesis of the
writings of the founders of the science ; the selection on principles, more
or less arbitrary, but always opinionative, of generic types, when these
have not been explicitly mentioned by the author.
With the more minute observation of differences in structure, and
the consequent multiplication of genera; has arisen an idea that all
classification, generic and otherwise, is simply a human contrivance for
the purpose of expressing degrees of resemblance between the organic
forms which we collect and recognize as distinct.
In short, that our best efforts to ascertain the relations of organic
beings has resulted, not in a system, but in a dictionary.
This was not the idea of the fathers in science—nor is it the idea of
many respectable students of the present day.
The language of Linnzeus is clear upon this subject. ‘ Genus et
species nature opus ;’ to him and to his followers there was no generic
type. Each species comprised in the genus was equally typical, unless, as
in rare cases, it was mentioned as aberrant, with a suspicion expressed in
scme instances that it wonld be subsequently separated as a distinct
genus. When dissections were made, as in the fuller definitions in the
foot notes in the works of Fabricius, it was not because the dissected
species were selected peculiarly as the type of the genus (for in many
instances the dissections are not part of the generic formula), but merely
that the most common and available species was chosen for the purpose
of giving more information than was conveyed by the condensed generic
diagnosis.
224 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST
In the gradual progress of science, and with the multiplication of
genera, it came to be considered that the person who recognized the
necessity of subdividing an ancient genus, should exercise his judgment
regarding the part to which the old name should adhere ; and in most
instances this was attended with no inconvenience.
Rarely, as in the case of ‘TEMNOCHILA Wzw., the name of the original
genus TROGOSSITA was retained for a group which did not accord with the
original definition ; the new name was imposed upon the set of species
which should have kept the original name. ‘These instances are but few
in number, and the exposure of the error committed is sufficient to cause
its immediate correction.
I would therefore infer that the practice of some students in recent
times, of applying the older generic names in a different sense from that
in which they were restricted by the persons first making the divisions, is
founded upon an incorrect interpretation of what was formerly meant by
a genus ; and that these old authors, were they now alive, would strongly
resist the limitation of their generic idea to a single type-species.
When the describer of a genus establishes the genus upon a single
species, either because it is the only one known to him, or because, as is
sometimes the case, he does not choose to enumerate the others, then of
course, from the accident of the case, that particular species becomes
typical of the genus, and must remain so as long as the present system of
nomenclature is adopted. | But when, on the other hand, several species
are included in the genus, and they all agree accurately in the possession
of the characters mentioned as defining the genus, they must in my opinion
be regarded as egually typical. It would save mnch confusion in inter-
preting the modern use made of these restricted older names, if in all
instances in systematic works the restricting authority was added in
parenthesis.
A more difficult source of confusion is that resulting from the erroneous
position ascribed to a genus, which renders it, with the ordinary usages
of interpretation, absolutely irrecognizable ; as when, for instance, the
3yrrhide genus AMPHYCYRTA was described by Mannerheim as a Tene-
brionide, under the name Eucyphus, and the genus AMPHIZOA also as a
Tenebrionide (Dysmathes). In these two cases Mannerheim’s names
fail from want of priority, but had this not been the case, I still maintain
that the names of erroneous position should be suppressed in favor of
later names which may have been independently given, and correctly
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 225
defined. The genus being erroneously described, of course fails to
represent any idea realized in nature, and the sdecific name must there-
fore fall with it, and the whole name be quoted in synonymy, with the
error mark ({) appended.
While I fully recognize the importance of having the same object
always spoken of by the same name, I must frankly say that the forced
uniformity aimed at by somewhat arbitrary processes, in a few familiar
instances, seems to be capable of producing still greater confusion. To
take an example: our common tumble-bug is equally known to most
students of entomology as CANTHON or CopRopsius, and specifically as
fevis or volvens, the first generic and specific names having priority.
Recently, however, on the authority of Gemminger and Harold, and of
Mr. Crotch, the specific name Audsonias has been resurrected from
Forster's Centuria Insectorum. The priority of this last name is not
borne out by any evidence in the books containing the descriptions, and
if it be valid, can only be demonstrated by careful bibliographical inves-
tigation of a collateral kind. It is unreasonable to expect that our
familiar names for common objects, for it is only among them that such
changes are likely to be suggested, should thus be altered where there can
be any excuse for resisting the innovation. But I will go farther
and say, that where two names have become from peculiar circumstances
equally known, there can be no serious objection to the writer using that
one for which he has preference. If I had occasion to write concerning
the great Aristotle, it is certain that all those persons capable of under-
standing what I would desire to say about him, whether [ mentioned him by
his name or spoke of him as the Stagyrite, or even as the Preceptor of
Alexander, would know who was meant.
When the different names which have been applied to the most common
species, have been recognized by competent authorities as synonyms, and
have been thus collated in accessible registers, catalogues or systematic
works, it is not a subject worth contention which of these equally known
names may be used by individual writers. Certainly it is wrong for a person,
without a careful study of bibliography, to change his habit in the use of a
name, because the latest authority advocates a subversion. It is by no
means true in natural history that the latest is the best, and those who are
not critical students in these subjects will do well to follow the advice
given in the first part of this essay, to restst innovation,* until they find
* Confusis enim nominibus omnia confundi necesse est.—C.xsaLp. apud Linn.,
Syst. Nat. xii, i, 13..
226 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
that the later views are adopted by those to whom they have a right to
look for instruction upon these technical points. Let them, at any rate,
be clear in their minds that the changes are in accordance with the existing
laws, or let them agitate for such alteration in the current code as will
produce legally the modifications they desire.
Other special cases may arise of still greater difficulty than those I
have here discussed. For the proper solution of these, I think the
suggestion of Mr. Alfred Wallace* is most valuable. It is that all
disputed points in nomenclature should be referred for investigation and
decision to a committee of experts. Such a committee could be readily
formed in the Entomological Club of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, which would dispassionately determine all
questions relating to the progress of the science in North America, and
announce their decisions each year. These decisions would, I am
convinced, be cheerfully adopted by most, if not all of those who are
occupied in the study of the insects of this continent.
One more suggestionin conclusion. It isthis: ‘That in proportion
as the objects become well known, and especially in those species which
fortunately possess no synonymy, all reference to authorities should be
dropped, except when dibliographical reference to a full description or
figure is necessary. If, however, a synonym must be mentioned, let the
author of this supplementary name be quoted.
Should this suggestion be adopted, it will result that the name of the
describer will not be unnecessarily connected with the valid name of the
species, and one strong support of the small personal vanity which I have
criticized in the first part of this essay will be destroyed. Another
important result will be that the maker of a synonym will know that his
name will be inseparably connected with that synonym, when-
ever it is mentioned; and that. therefore, so far from being an honor, or
a recognition of good work, the use of an authority will come to be known
as an indication of bad or imperfect work, and the makers of species on
hasty study or on defective materials will be discountenanced.
* Address of the President, Trans. Ent. Soc. London, 1871, Ixviil.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 7
ae
ON SOME OF OUR COMMON INSECTS.
No. 15. THE IO MOTH—Saturnia (Hyperchiria) Lo, Fabr.
BY E. B. REED, LONDON, ONT.
This lovely moth is well worthy a place in the cabinet of the collector,
and is always sure to attract notice and admiration. ‘The larva, of which
fig. 27 represents a full-grown specimen, is of a most delicate apple or
Fig. 27.
pea green colour, with a broad, dusky
white stripe at each side, bordered
with lilac on the lower edge. The
body is covered with clusters of green
bristles, tipped with black. These
bristles are exceedingly sharp, and
when the insect is handled, will pro-
duce a very irritating sting, similar
to, but much sharper than that of
the nettle, and the effect of which
causes a reddening of the flesh and
the immediate appearance of raised
white blotches, which last for a
considerable time.
Fig. 28 shows the appearance
of these bristles, some of them, as he
b, being stouter and more acute than the others, and able to erie a sharper
and more penetrating sting. According to Mr. Riley, the irritating
pi 28- property belongs to the substance of which the spines
fact that the spines of a cast off skin, which had been
y,in his cabinet for years, still retained the irritating
power.
| are formed, and his opinion was strengthened by the
Fine In the earlier stages the caterpillars are gregarious,
feeding together side by side, and in going to and returning from their
place of shelter, moving in regular files, like the processionary caterpillars
of Europe (Lasiocampa processionea). When about half grown they
228 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
disperse, each seeking a location for itself. They moult five times,.
devouring their cast off spinous skins. After being in the larval state
about eight weeks, they arrive at maturity, and are then about two inches
and a half long.
Their food plants are numerous. They have been found on Black
Locust, Indian Corn, Willows, Sassafras, Wild Cherry, Elm, Hop-vine,
Balsam, Balm of Gilead, Dogwood, Choke Cherry, Currant, Cotton and
Clover. ‘J, myself, this year found it on the English Filbert, and raised
it to maturity on that plant. I have, however, more commonly found it
on the Choke Cherry. The larva, when full grown, crawls ‘to the ground,
where, amid the loose leaves and rubbish, it forms a rough covering, within
which it makes a slight cocoon of tough, gummy, brown silk. In this.
retreat a change is soon effected to the pupal or chrysalis state, and having
remained therein during the winter and spring months, the moth emerges
in the perfect winged state about June. The moths are especially
remarkable for the difference between the sexes, both in size and colour.
The male, fig. 29, which is much the smallest, is of a deep Indian or
maize yellow ; on the fore wings are two oblique, wavy lines, near the hind
Fig. 29. margin, and a zigzag line
near the base. There is.
also a large, dark, reddish,
central reniform spot or
blotch. The hind wings.
are broadly shaded with
purple, next to the body ;.
eo a) on the hinder margin is a
We y) 27 purplish curved band, and
Hoa cca within this again is a
- smaller one of a dark
purple or violet colour. In the centre of this last band and the middle of
the wing is a large, round, blue spot, with a whitish centre and a broad
border almost black; the under side of the wings is of the same deep:
yellow ; the fore wings showing the same dark occellated spot, as on the
other side, and having the inner margin broadly shaded with purple. ‘The
hinder wings are more uniform in color, with a transverse purple line and
a very small, distinct white spot representing the centre of the large spot
on the upper side. .
The body is also deep yellow.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGISY. 229
The female, fig. 30, is considerably larger; the specimens vary very
much in color, from a dark purplish brown to a warm ochreous red. The
fore wings have similar wavy, zigzag lines ;_ the reniform blotch being less
distinct than in the male; the inner margin is of a deeper colour, and is
Fig. 30.
thickly coated with short hair, like the head and thorax. The hind wings.
are similar to those of the male; the under side has the same uniform
colour, and the markings and spots as in the male.
The body is the same shade as the wings, the abdomen being a little
lighter in colour, and each segment being bordered with a narrow reddish
band.
The moths vary in size from two and a half inches in the male to three
and a half in the female.
The eggs are deposited on the under side of the leaf, and are described
by Mr. Riley as being compressed on both sides and flattened at the apex,
the attached end smallest, in colour cream white, with a small black spot.
on the apical end and a larger orange one on the sides.
—_————_
TINEINA FROM TEXAS.
BY V. T. CHAMBERS, COVINGTON, KENTUCKY.
A collection of Tineina received from Mr. Belfrage, of Waco, Texas,
presents some points worthy of mention apart from the descriptions of the
new species.
The collection consists of about two hundred and fifty specimens in
tolerably good condition, referable to seventy-six species and twenty-seven
genera. Such a number of genera and species is evidently typical of the
930 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
Tineina of the locality where they were collected. | Twenty-nine of these
species belong to the genus Gelechia, and twenty-five others belong in the
same family. Fifty-three of these species thus belong to the Gelechide, and
only twenty three to other genera. The Ge/echide are numerous every-
where, and a preponderance of species belonging to this family is to be
expected in almost any collection, but I have not known any _ other
collection in which it was so great as in this one.
The collection contains seven species of Laverna, and another species
which I have made the type of a new genus very nearly allied to Laverna.
These seven species differ from each other somewhat as to the neuration,
and also as to the raised tufts on the wings, but perhaps not to any greater
degree than do well recognized species of Laverna, as e. g. L. Staintont
and ZL. /angiella of Europe. Mr. Stainton (Vat. Hist. Tin., vii) enumerates
only twenty species belonging to this genus, and three others are also known
from this country. ‘This collection then contains nearly one-third as many
species of this genus as were heretofore known altogether. Of the
species heretofore known, but one (if I rightly understand Mr. Stainton)
is fairly described as white, that being the prevailing or ground color,
though some others have more or less white markings. But of these
seven, five may fairly be placed in the white section; and the other two
are also strongly marked with white.
The collection contains five species which I have placed in Butalis,
though with great doubt as to two of them, which are totally unlike all
other species of the genus in color, though I have not been able to discover
any structural differences whatever.
But it is, perhaps, more remarkable for what it does not than for what
it does contain. As before stated, such a collection is typical of the
Tineina of the locality where it was collected.‘ Yet it contains no speci-
men of Léthocolletis, which, both in the collections of Dr. Clemens and
myself, is the genus next most numerous in species and individuals after
Gelechia. Tinea, Coleophora, Gracilaria, Biucculatrix, Tischeria and
Nepticula are also genera usually numerous in species and individuals.
Yet this collection contains only one Zizea, two Coleophora, no Gracilaria
(unless a single species of Corisceuwm be held to represent it), and three ?
species of Bucculatrix, one of which is a somewhat aberrant form.
All of the species are new except ten. ‘These are as follows :
Gelechia cercerisella Cham., Ypsolophus eupatoriella Cham.,
% aquepulvela * Plutella cruciferarum Zell.,~
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. S11
Gelechia disco-oceella Cham. Flolocera glandulella Riley,
“ roseo-suffusella Clem., Bucculatrix pomifoliclla Clem.,
Flagno faginella Cham., Hamadryas Basettella =
Of these ten species, G. roseo-suffusella, judging from the number of
specimens in the collection, appears to be by far the more numerous,
though it may turn out that some of the specimens do not belong to this
species, but to a very closely allied and undescribed one; and all the
specimens are of a darker hue than those from the Northern States. This
species appears to be distributed nearly all over the United States, and is
perhaps the most common species of the genus.
G. cercerisella was originally placed by me in Defressaria, and I was
led to do this by giving too much importance to the neuration of the
wings. It is, however, properly referable to Gelechia. The specimens—
thirteen in number—belong to a very well marked variety. In all the
specimens (a great many) that I have heretofore examined, the fore wings
are marked just within the middle of the dorsal margin by some faint,
short, ochreous streaks, only discernible distinctly under a lens. In these
thirteen specimens these ochreous streaks are not present, and their
place is occupied by a larger snow white spot, like those on the margins
of the wings.
G. equepulvella is well represented in the collection, but there appears
to be some variation in the shade of the ground color and in the density
of the dusting.
The single specimen of Holocera glandulella differs from Mr. Riley’s
description as follows: there is a single discal spot behind the angulated
line, and two others at the end of the cell, instead of ‘‘ two discal spots,” as
stated by Mr. Riley; besides, “three tolerably distinct, dusky marks
around the discal spots” are wanting. Unfortunately I have now no
typical specimens of this species, with which to compare it, but I doubt
not it is the same.
Hamadaryas Bassettella was described by Dr. Clemens from specimens
sent to him from Connecticut. He states that it appears to be congeneric
with a portion of Gelechia. The remark is applicable to almost every
species of the family Gelechide. Dr. C. does not seem to have observed
its very close relationship to Dasycera, nor, perhaps, its still closer relation-
ship to, or even identity with the genus Pancalia. The antennae in
Bassettella are stout, and the ciliation is microscopic, quite distinct in this
respect from species of Dasycera. The wings of Passettedla are narrower
232, THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
and the form of the secondaries is different, approaching that of Bufadlis..
Mr. Stainton’s figure (Ins. Brit., v. 3) represents the secondaries of D.
sulphurella narrower and more pointed than are those of D. Mewmanella,
but less so than those of Basse¢tel/a. The ornamentation of D. Vewman-
ella resembles that of most species of Autalis. The ornamentation of
Bassettella rather resembles that of Pancalia, to which, also, I think, it
makes the nearest approach structurally.
Hlagno faginella seems to have the transverse dusky lines of the
primaries darker and more distinct than in the Kentucky specimens, and
those about the middle of the wing condensed into two indistinct
fascia.
Plutela cruciferarum presents nothing unusual; but there is in the
collection a single specimen which I incline to consider an undescribed
species. In it the lighter color of the inner margin projects into the
darker part of the wing only once, and that very faintly, behind the middle
of the wing; otherwise the line between the two colors is nearly straight ;.
the markings in the posterior portion of the costal half of the wings also
differ somewhat from those of P. cruciferarum. But the specimen is.
imperfect, and I shall not at present separate it from crweiferarum. From
an examination of my collection of cructferarum, I concur with Mr.
Stainton’s suggestion that P. mo/lipedella Clem. is the female of P. cruct-
ferarum.
The new species are as follows :
AMADRIA ? Clem.
A. Clemensella. WN. sp.
Yellow; the palpi are a little paler, except the outer surface of the
second joint. Primaries with minute brown spots arranged in transverse
rows ; these require close observation : one spot on the fold and one on
the end of the disc, a little larger than the others. Alex. % inch. There
is also a row of small fuscous spots around the base of the ciliae.
TINEA.
TZ. obseurostrigella. LN. sp.
Dark fuscous; the primaries obscurely mottled with sordid yellowish ;.
there is a row of indistinct yellowish spots or streaks on the costa, from
the middle to the tip, and along the base of the dorsal ciliae. Al. ex.
1% inch. Season, October.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 233
ANESYCHIA.
A. multipunctella. N. sp.
Second joint of the palpi dark brown, tipped beneath with scattered
white scales, and with a few scattered white scales above; third joint
white, tipped beneath at the base with dark brown; face black ; vertex
white, with a central black spot ; antennae fuscous ; thorax white, with six
black spots, one of which is placed close to the base of the wings and is
continuous with the dark brown of the wings ; two others on top, and one
on each side a little before the tip. Primaries shining dark brown or
black, with a wide white streak extending along the dorsal margin from
the base nearly to the tip, and a white costal spot close to the tip; there
is a sinus, or projection of the white into the dark brown portion, just
before the middle, and from thence to the tip the line between the two
colors is irregular, with another sinus behind the middle ;_ there is a small
black spot in the white at the first sinus, and six others along the dorso-
apical margin at the base of the ciliae, and another in the costal white
spot, or more properly, perhaps, there are three in the costal white spot,
two of them being confluent with the dark brown color around it; ciliae
white, except at the tip. Al. ev. t¢ inch. Season, April and May. In
nine specimens I detect no variation.
A. mirusella. N. sp.
Palpi pale yellowish ochreous ; the second joint has two brown spots
on its outer surface, that nearest to the base being largest ;_ the third joint
has the base and tip dark brown. Head pale yellowish or nearly white ;
antennae pale fuscous ; thorax pale yellowish’ ochreous, with four brown
spots, two of which are about the middle and one on each side near the
tip. Primaries white, faintly tinged with ochreous yellow, and with a
rather wide golden brown basal streak, which begins near the costa and
diverges thence to the end of the cell, and from thence narrows and
becomes more diffuse towards the apex, which it does not quite attain.
The costal whitish portion is more streaked and suffused with ochreous
than the dorsal portion, which has a small brown spot before the middle ;
there is likewise a row of small brown spots around the apex, at the base
of the ciliae. A/. ex. ts inch. Season, April and May.
I have not examined the neuration, and the ornamentation is unusual
in the genus ; but the other characters are those of Avnesychia.
934 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
HARPALYCE, gen. 20U.
In the neuration, and more decidedly in the form of the secondaries,
this genus makes a very near approach to the Zortricide. The hind wings.
are as wide as in any genus of that family. The primaries, however,
rather resemble those of the genus //aguo, and the palpi also ally it to the
Gelechide.
Wings nearly horizontal (in the dead insect).
In the primaries the costa is regularly arched, and the wing is widest
about the middle ; the costa attains the margin behind the middle ;_ the
cell is rather narrow ; the subcostal gives off four branches to the margin
before the end of the cell, the first and longest of which arises before the
middle, and the last of which arises close to the end of the cell, and
reaches the costal margin close to the apex ; the apical branch reaches the
apex or the margin close to and beneath it ; the discal vein gives off two
branches ; the median gives off, close to the end of the cell, a single ®
branch, which becomes furcate, and the apical branch runs to the margin,
parallel to the discal branches ; the fold is thickened at the end, and the
submedian vein is long and furcate at the base.
The secondaries are at least one-half wider than the primaries, their
width being equal to about two-thirds of the length ; the costa is strongly
arched near the base, and very faintly sinuate before the apex, which is
rounded, and the dorsal margin very faintly sinuate beneath it ; the costal
vein is sinuate from the margin and almost coincident with the subcostal
towards the base, and attains the margin near the apex ;_ the cell is wide ;
the subcostal is furcate behind the cell, with the superior branch delivered
to the apex; the discal vein is curved or angulated, the angle pointing
towards the base, and wcav the median it is again angulated, the angle
pointing backwards, and a branch proceeds from it to the margin ;_ the
median sends a branch from behind the middle to the margin, and from
the origin of the branch bends up to its union with the discal, at which it
becomes furcate. Submedian and internal veins distinct. In one of the
species (canusella) the costa is not so much arched, and the posterior
margin not at all sinuate beneath the apex, and the discal vein is curved
(not angulated) and unites with the median without forming a second
angle, what I have described as the discal branch vein, being continuous:
with the median and arising from a common origin with the furcate
branch.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Daa
Tongue rather short; maxillary palpi minute ; labial palpi simple,
slender, slightly overarching the vertex, the third joint about half as long
as the second, and pointed ; antennae simple, more than half as long as
the primaries, with the basal joint short and a little enlarged; scales of
the posterior portion of the vertex a little roughened, but not forming a
tuft ; eyes globose, of moderate size ; ocelli, none.
ff, tortricella. N. sp.
Yellowish or straw color; head and hind wings paler, nearly white ;
there is a minute, pale brownish spot at the end of the disc. <A]. ex. 34
inch. Season, May.
FT. albeila. NN. sp.
White ; a minute, indistinct, ochreous spot at the end of the disc, on
the forewings, and a very few widely scattered dark brown scales. There
is a brownish, ochreous streak on the outer surface of the second joint of
the palpi. Al, ex. 16 inch. Season, June, July and August.
FT, canusella. NN. Sp.
Pale grayish, almost white, with obscure patches of very pale fuscous:
on the primaries ; a small brown spot within the dorsal margin, before the
middle ; another a little behind it on the fold, and another at the end of
the disc. At the beginning of the ciliae is an obscure, narrow, curved,.
pale fascia, which is very concave towards the base of the wing. Ad. ex.
Ys inch.
GELECHIA.
G. thoracealbella. N. sp.
Second joint of the palpi brush-like, the brush spreading and faintly
divided; third joint slender, more than half as long as the second.
Palpi whitish, the second joint ochreous brown at the base, and the
scales of the brush tipped with ochreous yellow ; face, head, and a wide
streak from the head to the apex of the thorax, white. Antennae, sides
of thorax over the wings, and the primaries brown, the primaries very
faintly streaked with whitish towards the apex. AZ. ex. 1's inch.
G. minimaculella. LN. Sp.
Second joint of palpi brush-like; third more than half as long as the
second.
a0 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. :
Head and palpi ochreous yellow ;_ palpi with the base of the second
joint, a spot on its outer surface, near the tip, and a ring around the third
joint, near the tip, dark brown; antennae dark brown ; thorax brownish
ochreous above, except the sides just above the wings, which are dark
brown like the primaries, and, like them, faintly tinged in some lights
with a bluish cast. Near the base of the primaries, extending from the
costa to the fold, is a narrow, irregular, interrupted, somewhat oblique
ochrecus yellow line or series of small spots; there are three or four
minute ochreous yellow spots on the disc, and a spot of the same hue
about the beginning of the dorsal ciliae, and an opposite costal one. AZ.
ex. 34 inch.
G. ochreosufusella. NN. sp.
Second joint of the palpi brush-like; third joint about half as long as
the second.
Insect dark brown; second joint of the palpi above sprinkled with
white or pale yellow scales ; third joint ochreous or yellowish, except at
the base and a narrow annulus before the middle, which are dark brown ;
head ochreous, densely dusted with dark brown, so as almost to obscure
the ground color ; thorax, base of the wings, and a streak along the fold
suffused with reddish ochreous ; primaries sparsely dusted with whitish
and with a reddish ochreous streak at the base near the costa, as well as
that on the fold, and with the costal and dorsal spots faintly indicated.
The white dusting of the primaries is sometimes very distinct, and it
forms an interrupted fascia or rather a line of small specks across the
wing, just before the ciliae. Ad. ex. 34 inch.
G. depresso-strigella. iN. sp.
Second joint of the palpi brush-like ; third joint about half as long as
the second.
Brown, with a grayish ochreous tinge, the wings streaked with ochreous
and the palpi sprinkled with whitish scales. Thorax, basal portion of the
wings, and a streak along the fold suffused with reddish ochreous ; four
very indistinct, oblique, dark brown lines extend along the disc, and the
spaces between the veins in the apical part of the wing are each marked
with a similar line, and all of these lines appear to be depressed or sunken
below the general surface of the wing. Al. ex. 34 inch. Season, July,
August and September. It resembles the preceding species, but the
Se ee
iy
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. . OST
brush is smaller, color of the head and palpi different, and the narrow
longitudinal depressed brown lines separate it from that species.
G. pallidagriseella. N. sp.
Second joint of the palpi brush-like; third joint about half as long as ~
the second.
Palpi and head whitish, almost hoary. — Pale yellowish gray, a little
suffused with ochreous on the thotax and primaries. There is a minute
rust red spot about the middle of the disc ; extreme costa dark brown at
the base ; antennae dark brown. AZ. ex. 34 inch.
G. qguadrimaculella. LV. sp.
Third joint of palpi longer than the second; palpi not at all brush-like.
Dark brown, in some lights tinged with ash gray ; a small dark brown
spot on the fold within the basal fourth of the primaries ; another also on
the fold about the middle ; another near it, about the middle of the disc,
and another at the end of it. AZ ex. ¥ inch. Season, May. The
brown spots are very indistinct, differing but little from the general hue.
G. Wacoella. WN. sp. |
Second joint of palpi with a small brush, third about as long as the
second.
Ochreous, sprinkled above with dark brown ; third joint dark’ brown;
head and thorax dark brown, with a faint ochreous tinge. Primaries dark
brown ; two ochreous spots on the costal margin near the base, another
at the beginning of the ciliae, and two small spots of the same hue on the
fold before the middle. AZ. ex. +6 inch.
G. crescentifasciella. LN. sp.
Palpi not brush-like; third joint about as long as second.
Ash gray, microscopically dusted with brown ; there is a crescentic, very
indistinct pale fascia at the beginning of the ciliae, very concave towards
the base of the wing ; one or two minute dark spots on the disc, and one
at its apex. AZ ex. %inch. Season, Apriland May. It resembles G.
guadrimaculella, but is smaller and of a more ashen hue. Sometimes the
fascia is absent.
G. pullusella. NN. sp.
Palpi slender, simple, third joint more than half as long as the second.
238 | THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGTST.
Brown, microscopically sprinkled obscurely with whitish scales. 4Z
ex, 7s inch. Season, August.
G. plutela. WN. sp.
Palpi simple, slender ; third joint more than half as long as the SCCONA,
and pointed.
Face and palpi white; vertex pale yellowish, with a dusky central
spot ; antennae pale yellowish ; patagia and costal half of the primaries,
almost ‘to the tip, creamy white; thorax and dorsal half of primaries and
the tip dark brown ; the whitish portion of the primaries is widest at the
base, and the dark brown portion at the apex, and the whitish part sends
two short, oblique projections into the brown one just before the middle
and the other just behind it. AZ ex. % inch. Season, August.
The ornamentation of the wings bears considerable resemblance to
that of Plutella cruciferarum, except that the colors are reversed.
G. sella. LV. sp.
Second joint of the palpi thickened bencath towards the tip, but not at all
brush-like; third joint more than half as long as the second.
Head yellowish white, sometimes with a wide longitudinal brownish
streak on the vertex. Palpi very pale yellowish, with the second joint
externally brown and internally streaked or sprinkled with brown, and the
third joint, with the tip and a band around the middle, dark brown.
Thorax and primaries pale ochreous gray; under the microscope pale
ochreous yellow, somewhat dusted with fuscous. There is a velvety dark
brown spot on the fold, not far from the base, behind which is usually a |
dark brown dorsal streak, extending more than half across the wing,
perpendicular to the margin, placed before the middle, but sometimes it
is represented only by a triangular spot on the fold, and which does not
touch the margin ; and there is another small spot of the same hue at the
end of the cell, and surrounded by a paler annulus; base of the costal
margin and six or seven small spots along the costa dark brown, the last
of which is just before the ciliae ; and there is a narrow ochreous basal
streak just within the costal margin; occasionally the spots along the
costa are absent. AZ. ex. % inch. Season, July and September. Itisa
handsome species.
G. trimaculella, N. sp.
_——a
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 239
Second joint of the palpi scarcely thickened beneath; third half as long
as the second ; acuminate.
Head, antennae and palpi pale yellowish white ; third joint of the
palpi tinged with fuscous. Thorax and primaries very pale ochreous
yellow (under the lens sparsely and minutely dusted with pale reddish
ochreous scales); two small, nearly circular, blackish spots before the
middle, one beneath the fold, the second on the disc, a little behind the
first one ; and a larger one of the same hue at the end of the disc, and a
row of minute, dark brown spots around the base of the ciliae. Al. ex.
1% inch. Season, April and May.
G. clegantella. N. sp.
Second joint of palpi scarcely thickened beneath ; third more than half as
long as second.
Palpi white ; second joint yellowish towards the tip, the third with
three brown annulations, one at the base, one before the middle, and one
before the tip, sometimes connected by a line along the under surface ;
head and thorax sordid white or yellowish, slightly iridescent ; base of the
primaries white, iridescent, narrow, but wider on the dorsal than on the
costal margin ; this is followed by an oblique, ochreous or yellowish orange
band, which crosses the wing and is margined with brown before and
behind, and followed by an oblique white band, which also crosses the
wing, and is rather widely margined behind by an iridescent, brown line,
terminating at a smooth tuft of raised scales on the dorsal margin, the tuft
or rather smooth. elevation being metallic and highly iridescent, as also are
the brown margins of the ochreous bands; the dark brown, posterior
margin of the second brown fascia is produced backwards along the disc
and passes backwards along the disc, inclining towards, but not reaching
the base of the dorsal ciliae, and containing three smooth, metallic
elevations, like the one on the dorsal margin, the wing between it and the
costa being white, and between it and the dorsal margin the wing is white
and pale ochreous. ‘The oblique streak terminates just before the dorsal
ciliae at a curved fascia, which is very convex towards the base, is reddish
ochreous on the dorsal margin, and brown on the costal margin. This
curved fascia is followed by an oblique one, which is nearest to the tip on
the costal margin, and the costal portion of it is wide and white, and the
dorsal portion brown, and in some lights is brilliant metallic; the brown
portion is narrow where it meets the white cpstal portion, and passes
240 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
around behind it to the costal margin, and thence curves as a narrow line
backwards around the apex at the base of the ciliae, returning to its origin
on the dorsal margin, thus enclosing an oblong, egg-yellow or golden
patch, parallel with the base of the dorsal ciliae. In some lights. this.
fascia is dull brown, not at all metallic, and the yellowish ochreous parts.
of the wing become almost brick red; and, in truth, all the colors of the
wing, except the dark velvety brown streak which passes obliquely the
disc, are so variable that it is very difficult to give an adequate or intelligible
description of the insect. The ciliae are fuscous. Al. ex. 38 inch.
Season, May, August and’September. I have also received it from Miss.
Maurtfeldt, from St. Louis.
This species belongs to the same group with G. voseo-suffusella, &c.,
and is the prettiest Ge/echia that I have seen.
G. rufusela. LN. sp.
Second joint of the palpi somewhat thickened beneath before the apex
(nearly as in the European G. populella); third joint a Little longer than
the second.
Palpi white ; second joint externally dark brown at the base. Head,
thorax and base of the primaries yellowish white, with a faint reddish
tinge, which gradually deepens and becomes more distinct as it passes.
backwards over the wings, and about the basal one-fourth becomes bright
brick red, and continuing to deepen, becomes tinged with fuscous at the
apex. Antennae brown, annulate with pale yellow. Ad ex. % inch.
Sometimes the primaries are sparsely dusted with brown. Seasony
September. 7
G. costarufoella. LN. sp.
Second joint of the palpi clavate, not brush-like, brown, tipped with
yellowish ; third joint pale yellowish. Antennae brown; head, thorax,
base of the primaries, and costal margin to beyond"the middle, rufous ;
the remainder of the primaries brown, with four small yellow spots, two
of which are on the fold, and two on the disc, and a fifth small one at the
beginning cf the costal ciliae ; ciliae brown, pale at their base. 4/ ex.a
little over % inch. Season, September.
“
G. subruberella. LN. sp.
Labial palpi, with the second joint of the palpi, a little thickened before
the tip, as in rufusella.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. NAY
Pale ochreous, faintly tinged with rufous, streaked and blotched with
brick red along the base of the dorsal ciliae ; a minute rufous spot on the
fold, and a circular brown one at the end of the disc, with a small one
before it. AZ ex. % inch. Season, October. Very near to rufusella,
perhaps a variety. The palpi are precisely as in that species as to form
and colors, but the general hue is much paler.
G. maculimarginela, N. sp.
Second yout of the palpi a little brush-like, yeowish, dusted with dark
brown; third joint dark brown, with extreme tip and a few scattered
scales white ; about as long as the second. Antennae dark brown ; head
pale ochreous yellow and brown; thorax and primaries dark gray brown,
spotted with darker colors; one of the spots is on the costa near the
base, and there is a smail yellowish spot before it and another behind it,
and beyond that is another of the dark spots ; there is a dark spot on the
fold, with a small yellowish one before it; a small dark spot about the
centre of the disc, without any yellow spot before it, and about the end
of the disc is another dark spot, with a smail yellow one before it. There
is a pale yellowish streak at the beginning of the costal ciliae, and an
opposite dorsal one. A/. ex. 4% inch. Season, July.
G. argenti-albella. WN. sp.
Second joint of the palpi scarcely thickened beneath ; the third more than
half the length of second.
Silvery white; each joint of the palpi has a dark brown annulus
before the tip; there are a few blackish scales over the base of the
antennae, which are annulate with brown; a small dark brown spot on
the extreme costa at the base, followed by three others within the margin,
_and there is also a small one within the dorsal margin near the base ;
there is a transverse brown spot or line on the fold, and another at the
end of the disc, a brownish fascia at the beginning of the ciliae, and a
brownish golden streak around the apex at the base of the ciliae. AZ.
ex. 7% inch. Season, June. A rather pretty and distinctly marked
species, like G. varitella, but I think it is quite distinct from it.
G. bidiscomaculella, N. sp.
Pale ochreous, becoming a little deeper towards the apex of the
primaries; there is a small brown spot about the middle of the disc,
FAP THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
another at its end, and a brown streak along the base of the costal ciliae.
Al, ex. 3g inch. Season, July. I have but a single specimen, and in it
the palpi are missing. Allied to swbruberella ; perhaps a variety of it.
G. subalbusella. LV. sp.
Second joint of the palpi not thickened. ;
Creamy white, sparsely dusted with ochreous yellow and brown. Ad.
ex. 3g inch. Season, July. |
G. parvipulvella. LV. sp.
Palpi simple.
Pale yellowish white, lightly dusted with fuscous, the dusting more
dense towards the apex of the primaries. Al. ex. 3g inch. Season, May
and August. Possibly a variety of G. subalbusella,
G. lavernella. LV. sp.
Second joint of the palpi a little thickened beneath towards the apex ;
third joint rather thick.
Palpi ochreous, with the basal half of the second joint and a band
before its tip, dark brown; an annulus before the middle of the third.
joint, and another wide one before its tip, dark brown. . Thorax and
primaries gray; base of the costal margin dark brown, and from it a
narrow, oblique, dark brown streak crosses the wing to the dorsal margin,
in its course crossing almost at right angles an indistinct brown line
which proceeds from a brown spot on the costal margin, and passes
obliquely forwards nearly to the base of the wing; and at the intersection
of the lines the brown color spreads around them, forming another spot ;.
these lines are irregular, and in some parts indistinct ; behind these lines
the wing is densely dusted with fuscous to the tip, and a brown fascia is
well indicated at the beginning of the ciliae. A/. ex. % inch. There is.
something in the clumsy looking palpi and general appearance which
reminds one of a Laverna.
G. cilialineclla. WN. sp.
Only microscopically distinguishable from G. solaniella. | Ochreous,
tinged slightly with grayish ; there is an indistinct brownish spot on the
fold, and another a little behind it on the disc, and another in the apical
part of the wing. Costal ciliae whitish, azd a narrow, indistinct, white
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 943
line at their base, and one also at the base of the dorsal cilia, and three dark
brown hinder marginal lines in the apical cilia. Al. ex. Y%-inch.
G. minimella. WL. sp.
Palpi simple.
Insect dark brown, indistinctly sprinkled with white. Al. ex. 34 inch.
The neuration is nearly that of C/eodora.
ANARSIA.
A. suffusella. NN. sp.
Ochreous yellow, somewhat suffused with fuscous. Outer surface of
the second joint of the palpi dark brown, tipped with ochreous; third
joint pale yellowish. The third- joint of the palpi is more slender than
in A. pruniella Clem., and the fascia is narrower. Al. ex. 34 inch. Season
April.
A. trimaculella. WN. sp.
Outer surface of the second joint of the palpi dark brown, except at
the apex of the tuft, where it is whitish; third joint yellowish. Head
pale ochreous; head and thorax pale ochreous, densely dusted with
fuscous. Primaries ochreous, suffused and dusted with brown; a small
dark brown spot on the fold before the middle; one a little larger at the
middle of the disc, and one at its end, and some scattered dark brown
scales along the base of the dorsal ciliae, near the apex. Al. ev. scarcely
¥% inch.
NEDA, ge. nov.
This genus is between Anarsia and Cleodora. It is an Anarsia in all
but the hind wings, which are those of Cleodora, both in form and
neuration.
Head smooth, convex; ocelli, none; antennae minutely denticulate ;
tongue moderate, scaled; labial palpi moderate, ‘second joint with a
projecting tuft at the apex; third joint smooth, ascending in the 2 (all
my specimens are 2.) Primaries lanceolate, ciliae moderate ; the costal
vein attains the margin before the middle ; the cell is narrow and pointed ;
the first branch of the subcostal is given off before the middle, and there
are two other branches towards the end of the cell ;_ the apical branch is
DAA THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
furcate on the costa before the tip, and has almost a common origin with
the apical branch of the median at the end of the cell; the median has
three branches behind the middle, and the submedian is furcate at the
base. ‘The secondaries are pointed, scarcely as wide as the primaries,
with the dorsal margin deeply excavated beneath the tip; the costal
margin is excavated from the basal third to the tip ; the costal vein attains
the margin about the middle ;_ the subcostal is straight to the end of the
cell, and thence bends a little upwards to the apex ; the cell is very wide;
the discal vein oblique, with two branches to the dorsal margin, the upper
branch arising close to the subcostal, and the second continued faintly
through the cell to the base ; the median is trifurcate behind the middle,
the first branch remote from the others ; the submedian distinct ; internal
obsolete.
LV. plutella.
Third joint of palpi and upper surface of the second one creamy
white, the second otherwise dark gray brown; head, thorax and the
dorsal margin of the primaries to a point beyond the beginning of the
cilae, creamy white, the primaries otherwise dark gray brown, except that
the extreme costa 1s creamy white and the costal margin is obscurely
streaked with the same hue. Ciliae of primaries creamy white, except
atthe apex. <A/. ex. 4 inch. Season, September. The ornamentation
reminds one of a Plutella.
CLEODORA.
(No species of this genus has heretofore been described from the U.
S. or Canada.)
C. pallidastrigella. NN. Sp.
Palpi pale yellowish ; a spot on top of the third joint, and the brush
on the second joint reddish ochreous. Thorax and primaries pale
orange ; paler, nearly white, along the dorsal margin, and on the extreme
costa beyond the middle; a narrow, indistinct, whitish line along the
fold, ending at a small brown spot; there is an oblique, narrow, whitish
streak along the base of the costal ciliae, continuous with the white of
the extreme costa, and there is a short one along the base of the dorsal
ciliae ; a minute brownish spot surrounded by a pale ring at the end of
the disc, and an oblique brownish streak in the ciliae at the apex. The
brown spots are allindistinct. Ad ex. 3 inch.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. QA5
The neuration of the primaries differs from that of C. cytésella, as
figured by Mr. Stainton (/vs. Brit, v. 3), by having a branch from the
apical vein to the costal margin, just before the vein becomes furcate,and
that of the secondaries differs from it by having a single branch from the
discal vein, and the subcostal furcate beyond the cell, or rather the
‘superior branch of the discal is united with the subcostal at the cell.
Nevertheless, I have no doubt that this species and the following are
properly placed in this genus.
C. pallidella. NN. Sp.
To the naked eye this species appears very pale gray, almost white ;
under the lens it appears pale ochreous gray, with minute and indistinct
pale fuscous specks ; there is a fuscous streak along the upper surface of
the second joint of the palpi, and the antennae are annulate with fuscous.
Al. ex. ¥8 inch. Season, August.
Mr. Stainton, in a foot note on page 111 of his edition of the
‘Clemens papers, doubts whether Avworthosia Clem. ought to be separated
from Cleodora. But the two genera differ decidedly in neuration, and the
palpi of Anorthosia, as figured by Dr. Clemens, are very different from.
those of Cleodora, as figured by Mr. Stainton (/us. Brit., v. 3). On the
other hand, the palpi of Avorthosia resemble more closely those of my
genus, Sagavitis. In both the tuft rises above the palpal joint, instead of
spreading around it, as in C/eodora, and in those genera the tuft is com-_
posed of long scales, whilst in C/eodora it is clothed with stiff, bristle-lke,
scales. In Axnorthosia the tuft is figured largest at the base of the joint,
whilst in Sagaritis itis largest towards the apex. The terminal joint in
Dr. Clemens’ figure is represented shorter relatively to the third than it is
in either Sagaritis or Cleodora. In both these genera the cell is closed in
both wings, while in Axorthosia it is open. There are also other differ-
ences both in the form and neuration of the wings. Sagarif?s is quite
distinct from Cleodora in the more elongate and slender body and legs,
and more graceful appearance, as well as in the form and neuration of
the wings. .
NOTHRIS.
N. griseella. WN. sp.
Tuft large, but not projecting beyond the end of the joint, its anterior
and inferior margins forming almost a right angle with each other; the
246 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
terminal joint of the palpi is nearly as long as the second, recurved ;
tongue rather scantily and roughly scaled at the base, the scales laterally
projecting. Having but a single specimen, I have not examined the
neuration, but the palpi are nearly those of JV. vecharcella, as figured in
Ins. Brit., v. 3, than to any other genus known to me.
Pale gray ; basal half of the second joint of the palpi dark brown on
the outer surface ; tip of third joint dark brown; basal joint and annu-
lations of the stalk of the antennae brown. There is a rather short dark
brown line on each side of the thorax above the wings. Primaries with
the extreme costa at the base, and the inner angle, dark brown, and the
base towards the dorsal margin suffused with faint reddish yellow; the
disc from the base nearly to the middle is suffused with brown, and there
are faint brownish streaks between the veins in the apical part of the
wing. AZ. ex. 34 inch.
HOLOCERA.
fH, Clemensella. NN. sp.
1, chalcofronitella Clem. is so variable a species that it is possible this.
may be a variety of it; but it is not one of the described varieties.
Whitish, dusted lightly with dark purplish brown, the dusting dense on
the second joint of the palpi. There is a purplish brown patch at the
base of the costa, a small one about the middle of the costa, a small one
opposite to it on the fold, a small one on the disc opposite the space
between the other two, one at the end of the disc, and a row of small
dots around the apex at the base of the ciliae. A/. ex. % inch. Season
August.
POLYHYMNO, £é@/. 110U.
The two insects for which I erect this genus are possibly not con-
generic. VP. /uteostrigellais a slender, elongate insect, whilst P. sexstrigella
is rather robust ; there is but a single specimen of the latter species, and
the head of that is wanting, though it is otherwise perfect. The form and
neuration of the secondaries is very nearly the same in both, and so is the
form of the primaries, except that those of sexstrigel/a are a little wider.
The generic diagnosis is that of ¢ufeostrigella. The points in which
sexstrigella differ from it are noticed under that species. The form of
luteostrigella and the markings of the wings in both species are suggestive
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. OAT
of affinities with Gracilaria, especially the short streaks at the apex of
the primaries, reminding one of the “hook” in some species of that
genus. The palpi are rather suggestive of relation to Cosmopteryx or
Stathmopoda, but the form and neuration of the wings place it beyond
doubt in the Gelechide, though the caudate primaries are peculiar.
No maxillary palpi; labial palpi recurved, very long and slender, with
the third joint longer than the second, and pointed ;_ tongue long, scaled
at the base ; forehead convex ; face broad; scales of the head and face
appressed ; basal joint of the antennae small, scarcely distinguishable.
from the stalk, which is long and slender.
Primaries lanceolate, narrow, caudate, the costal and dorsal margins.
both being excised before the tip, behind the cell, the dorsal margin
deeply so, and the extreme tip isa little hooked backwards. The costal
vein is short, cell narrow; the subcostal gives off two branches, both
behind the middle, the first remote from the second, which is at the end
of the cell; and the apical branch is furcate behind the cell, both
branches going to the costal margin. The discal vein gives off a single
branch, which goes to the dorsal margin, and the median is four-branched,
all four at or near to the end of the cell; the submedian is furcate at the
base.
The secondaries are deeply emarginate beneath the apex, which is a
little hooked backwards ; the subcostal gives off a long branch from before
the middle. and is furcate, with one branch to the costal and the other to:
the dorsal margin before the tip ; the cell is unclosed, and the independ-
ent discal branch arises af the median, which is three-branched, the first
one being before the middle and remote from the others. They are about
as wide as the primaries.
The neuration of the secondaries allies this genus to Zrypanisma Clem.,.
Taygete, Evippe, &c., Cham.
P. luteostrigella. N. sp.
Silvery white ; ciliae pale stramineous; upper surface of the thorax,
with four narrow, equidistant, longitudinal, golden yellow lines. Primaries
with three similar golden yellow lines extending through the entire length
of the wings; one of these is placed just within the dorsal margin, and
is continuous with one of the central thoracic lines, but the line is very
indistinct, becoming more distinct towards the apex ; another of the lines
on the wing is continuous with one of the lateral thoracic lines, is very
2A8 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST
-distinct, becomes furcate on the disc, one branch going to the extreme
apex and the other towards the dorsal margin at the beginning of the
-ciliae, where it becomes confluent with the first mentioned line, but
immediately separates from it again, the two lines continuing on_ parallel
to each other around the base of the dorsal ciliae to the apex. ‘The third
line begins on the costa at the base, and runs just within the costal margin
nearly to the apex, where it becomes confluent with the second or apical
branch of the second or median streak. In the apical part of the wing
are three golden costal streaks, which become confluent with the second
and third longitudinal lines, and point obliquely backwards, the first being
rather remote from the other two; behind these three streaks is a fourth
one, perpendicular to the margin; behind this is a fifth, pointing obliquely
forwards, and behind this again two short curved ones, pointing forwards,
one at the apex and the other close to and before it. There are two
distinct, though small black spots in the dorsal cillae. AZ. ex. 34 inch.
Season, August.
Polyhymno ? sexstrigella, N. sp.
As already stated, the head is missing in the single specimen which I
possess of this species, and the primaries are wider, decidedly so in pro-
portion to their length, being a little wider than the secondaries, and _ the
costal margin before the tip is not so decidedly scalloped ;_ the tip is not
hooked backwards; the apical branch of the subcostal is not furcate ;
there are three branches before it, instead of two, as in (wfeostrigella, but
the last one has almost a common origin with the apical, and the median
is only three-branched, instead of four.
The secondaries are the same, except that in this species the long
branch of the subcostal (the first branch) is absent.
The insect is more robust than /w/eostrigella.
Iridescent fuscous, in some lights silvery. About the middle of the
primaries is an oblique, wide, silvery white costal streak, of irregular out-
line, reaching the fold, pointing obliquely backwards, divided in part by a
narrow yellowish line, which passes back along the middle of the wing to
the second costal streak, the wing above and below it being dark fuscous,
somewhat iridescent ; the second costal streak is white and placed behind
the middle ;. opposite to it is a white spot, just within the dorsal margin ;
the second streak is dark margined behind, and the dark margin is pro-
duced backwards as a line along the centre of the apical part of the wing,
but does not quite reach the apex, and nearly opposite its end are two
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. QA
small, straight, silvery white costal streaks, both dark margined behind
and close to each other; behind these two streaks are two others, also:
close together, the last one at the apex and both dark margined behind.
The apical part of the wing (behind the second costal streak) is golden
yellow, sprinkled towards the dorsal margin with brown. Ciliae_ silvery
fuscous, with a wide, dark brown hinder marginal line. -A/. ex. 3@ inch.
Season, July.
In the form and neuration of the wings, and in the disposition of the
costal streaks it approaches lutcostrigella ; whether it does in the palpi and.
antennae remains to be seen.
Since the above remarks were written, I have received from Mr.
Belfrage more perfect specimens, and find the palpi and antennae as in
luteostrigella. 1t may be necessary to amend the specific description a
little hereafter.
(To be Continued.)
ON” A NEW SPECIES OF CERAMICA:
BY H. K. MORRISON, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
Ceramica rubefacta (nov. sp.)
Expanse, 41 m. m.; length of body, 20 m. m.
Eyes hairy ; collar and thorax reddish brown; the thorax of my only
specimen was injured in capture, so that the presence, or if present, the
size of the tufts could not be ascertained. But apparently it was tufted,
as there are traces of a meta-thoracic elevation. Abdomen yellowish,
with a strong basal tuft; the labial and anal tufts tinged with carneous ;
beneath red ; anterior wings deep uniform red ; lines obsolete; nervules
distinctly black ; a white dot on the costa at the base ; the interior line is
only represented by a white dot on the costa and on the subcostal, median
and submedian nervures. ‘The orbicular is blackish, small, oblique and
with a grayish centre, situated close to the reniform, and at more than the
usual distance from the base; reniform vague and blackish, with a gray
250 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
centre ; the exterior line consists of faint white dots on the nervules, and
its course is marked by the slightest possible change of color between the
median and subterminal spaces ; the ante-apical white dots are very
distinct ; the subterminal line wanting, except at the costa, where several
linear white shades show its place. Posterior wings yellowish white, with
a broad fuscous terminal border; beneath the anterior wings are gray,
with traces of an exterior line; the apical, costal aud terminal regions
deeply suffused with carneous. Posterior wings whitish, with the fringe
yellow; the costal and apical portions of the wings carneous. Zab.
Malden, Mass.; from my collection. Found under bark, June 24, 1873.
In a recent paper, Mr. Grote refers Ceramica to Taeniocampa, being
then only acquainted with Ceramica picta Harr. The discovery of this
species, which agrees perfectly in structural characters with ficfa, confirms
my previous opinion that the genus should be recognized. ‘The characters
which separate it from Zueniocampa are not very striking, but they can be
readily appreciated, and the habits and markings of the two species are
very different from any of the Zaeniocampas. Rubefacta approaches to
the description of vézdemialis Guen., but differs in the presence of the
orbicular and in other particulars.
In a recent number of the Enromotocist Mr. Grote described a
species under the title of Perigrapha normani. In working on allied
genera, we have identified this form, but we are unable to see the propriety
of the generic reference.
The following are the characters of Lederer’s genus Perigrapha :
Eyes hairy; tibiae unarmed; antennae pectinated in both sexes ;
collar cut out and produced in front into a sharp corner: thorax with an
angular projection on each side, and bearing behind the collar a lofty,
sharp-edged, longitudinal crest ; abdomen with a closely cut tuft on the
first segment.
In the species under consideration the antennae in both sexes are
simple; the collar is not produced into a sharp corner; the thorax is
rounded, without angular projections on the sides. Behind the collar there
is simply a small, flat, furrowed tuft, instead of a lofty crest ; the abdomen
is untufted.
Such being the generic characters of zormani, we remove it from
Perigrapha and refer it to a separate section of Zacniocampa, as it agrees
with the typical species of that genus, except in the possession of a slight
prothoracic tuft. ‘The known species will now stand as follows
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 251
——— eee
Taeniocampa Guen.
Section 1.—Thorax untufted.
Alia Guen.
Oviduca Guen.
Pacificata Harvey.
Section 2.—Thorax with a weak, flat, furrowed tuft behind the collar.
Normanzt Grote.
ON THE SPECIES REFERRED TO ORTHODES BY GUENEE:
BY H. K. MORRISON, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
In Mr. Grote’s recent ‘“ List of the Noctuidz ” four of the five species
described by Guenée are marked unidentified. With a very large material
(nearly 100 specimens of the different species, for many of which we are
indebted to Mr. F. C. Bowditch, who has found them common in the
vicinity of Boston) before us, we have attempted to straighten out the
species and to characterize the two genera to which we refer them.
Mr. Guenée, in instituting this genus, comprised under it many
discordant forms, and in his preliminary remarks he forsees the necessity
of a future generic separation of the species.
We restrict Orthodes to the group of which zwfrma is the type, and
also the most widely known member.
Orrnopes, Guenz, Nock tol. 1,’ p: 371 (1852e)
Imagines of medium size. The eyes hairy ; antennz simple in both
sexes ; the palpi stout, erect, thickly but evenly clothed ; the terminal joint
short, but distinctly separated from the other two ; the collar rounded,
distinctly lobed, and well separated from the thorax; in zufirma there
is an open space between the two lobes. The thorax untufted, its
villosity smooth and pressed down; the abdomen untufted, in the female
slightly exceeding the posterior wings ; in the male long hairy tufts which
have their origin at the base of the genitalia, enclose and extend far
beyond the parts ; the anterior wings rapidly increasing in width from the
base outward, triangular, the apex and internal angle rounded. The
spots and lines are very clear and evident. Beneath, the males have on
the median space an irregular, slightly raised patch of closely compressed
hair.
bo
Xt
bo
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 4
SPECIES.
Infirma, Guen., Noct., 1, p. 375 (1852).
In this species the squamation is smooth ;_ the lobes of the collar are
separated below ; the thorax is concolorous ; the anterior wings are dull
purple gray ; the lines and spots are all present, with the exeeption of the
claviform spot, and accompanied by distinct, even, yellow lines ; the half-
line parallel with the interior line ; the median lines are trapezoidal ; the
median shade is blackish, diffused,and curved, passing between the spots ;
the reniform and orbicular are large, contiguous, and surrounded by pale
annuli ; a double row of spots on the nervules follow the exterior line :
the subterminal line is distinct, even and slightly curved ; the subterminal
space dark, particularly near the costa; a pale scolloped line at the base
of the wings. Beneath yellowish, with a common line; on the anterior
wings the characteristic patch of hair is more elongated and narrower
than in the allied species ; on the posterior wings discal dots.
Expanse, 32-35 m.m. /fab,, the Eastern and Middle States. I have-
also received specimens from St. Louis (Prof. C. V. Riley.)
This species is very constant, except that the ordinary spots differ in
their closeness to each other. It is extremely common in the Middle:
States in July; to the northward it becomes less abundant.
Cyca Xcuen., Noct., 15°p. 375 (1852).
Nimia Guen., id., p. 76; candens Guen, id.
g ....The collar rounded, well separated from the thorax; there is.
no open space between its two lobes. It varies greatly in color from
light ochreous through all the shades of reddish and purple brown. ‘The
thorax concolorous with the anterior wings; the latter are rounded, pro-
portionately shorter than in zzfrma _; they vary from gray, with scarcely any
red admixture, to deep reddish brown. The median lines are always present,
simple, black and irregular,accompanied by paler shade lines; their position
in reference to each other varies in different specimens in some they are tra-
pezoidal,in others they are almost sub-parallel, and they vary to infinity
between these two limits. The median shade is black, diffused and arcuate,
always touching the base of the reniform,and approaching more or less near
to the exterior line. ‘The ordinary spots are always distinct, concolorous,
with white annul; they vary in their distance from each other. The
orbicular is usually oblique, and but little smaller than the reniform ; in
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. ae
one specimen, however, it is round and very small. The subterminal line
is generally whitish, distinct, and preceded by a dark shade line; this
latter is sometimes absent. The posterior wings are uniform, fuscous,
slightly lighter at the base, with a faint discal dot ;_ the fringe tinged with
ochreous or carneous, or witha shade between them. Beneath the anterior
wings are gray, the apex sometimes carneous. The characteristic patch
of hair covers the upper part of the basal and median spaces. The
posterior wings are yellowish, with a discal dot and thick median line ;
the latter is rarely obsolete. The fringes of both wings vary; they are
usually carneous, but sometimes ochreous or even pale gray. The anal
tufts are usually yellowish.
Expanse, 30 to 33m. m.
2. Inthe female the collar is purple, tipped with ochreous ; the
thorax and anterior wings are never gray, or with any trace of ochreous,
neither are they reddish brown, as in the males ; they are usually of a dark
intense purple brown. The median lines vary as in the males, but they
are always less distinct ; the ordinary spots are usuaily present, as in the
males, but in one specimen they are barely traceable. The subterminal
light line is less distinct, and frequently entirely obsolete. The posterior
wings are as in the males ; beneath also varying as in the other sex.
Expanse, 29 to32m.m. Had. Maine, Mass., N. Y., Ohio ; St. Louis,
Mo. (Prof. C. V. Riley). Appearing in the latter part of June and first
of July.
We have no hesitation in referring 7zza as a synonym of this species,
as specimens from New York exactly correspond with Guenée’s
description. Candens, however, may be distinct ; but we are disposed to
consider it merely a variety, from the description; at least until it is
discovered and proved to be a good species.
PSEUDORTHODES (z0v. gen. )
Closely allied to Orthodes, but we think sufficiently distinct from it.
The anterior wings are narrower than in Orthodes, and lack the distinctive
sexual patch of closely compressed hair of the males. The markings are
confused, and the ordinary spots are obsolete. The males have not the
leng anal tufts found in Orthodes. The third palpal joint is longer and
better defined.
Vecors Guen., Noct. 1, p. 376 (1852.)
Var. griseocincta Harvey, Bull. Buff, Soc. Nat. Sci, 1874.
254 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
In this species the thorax is concolorous with the anterior wings ;_ the
abdomen is smooth and flattened ; the wings are usually reddish brown or
gray, lustrous ; the median lines are blackish and confused, often accom-
panied by pale, faint shade lines ;_ the interior line is slightly oblique and
sometimes geminate; the median shade is broad, black, arcuate, and
diffused, touching the reniform, which is reduced to a red or white spot.
The orbicular and claviform are absent. ‘The exterior line is always
simple and denticulate ; the subterminal line is faint, light, preceded very
frequently by a dark shade, in which are sometimes formed, opposite to
the cell, black cuneiform dots. The fringe is concolorous. Posterior
wings dark grayish fuscous, sometimes almost black. The discal dot is
always present. Beneath the anterior wings are dark gray, with the
terminal space usually light; the posterior wings lighter, with a distinct
discal dot. A common median line extends over both wings.
Expanse 25 to 32 m.m. fad. Atlantic States.
Nearly forty specimens were examined from different localities.
O. cynica can be justly called a variable species, but this one is infinite
in its variations of size as well as color. We can not consider griseocincta
other than a specimen in which the reddish tint is entirely absent, and
the gray shades accompinying the lines are unusually prominent. The
forms of this species slide so gradually into each other that it is impossible
to draw distinct lines of demarcation. ‘There are, however, two principal
varieties ; in one the reniform is clear, white and conspicuous, and the
ground color is reddish ; in the other the reniform is reddish, or indicated
only by a few pale scales, and the ground color is gray with but slight
reddish admixture. Specimens of this latter variety (which is the only
one described by Guenée) sometimes occur in which the ground color ts:
red, but it is more frequently the other way.
In one specimen expanding only 25 m. m., the reniform is white ; the
ordinary lines are diffused and black, coloring the whole wing, and
entirely cbscuring the usual reddish shade. In another, which approaches.
griseocincta, the expanse is 31 m.m.; the reniform is simply a few collected
whitish scales. The lines are nearly obsolete, and the interior line is
preceded by a faint pale shade band. ‘The ground color is a dulllustrous
slightly brownish gray.
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 955
Obituary.
The sad intelligence of the death of that distinguished Entomologist,
Francis Walker, of London, England, conveyed in a brief notice in our
last, will, we know, have brought grief to the hearts of all those who have
been favored with the correspondence of that genial-hearted man. His
continued and disinterested kindness towards all those with whom he had
to do has endeared him to many. Although we never had the pleasure
of a personal acquaintance with the deceased, yet to ourselves personally,
as well as to our Society, he has always been among the truest and
kindest friends we have had, ever ready to do us any service in his power.
His death leaves a void in onr circle which it will be hard to fill. The
following brief sketch of his career and his unceasing labors, written by
one who knew him well, will be read with interest :
It has become my painful duty to record that Francis Walker, the most
voluminous and most industrious writer on Entomology this country has
ever produced, expired at his residence, Elm Hall, Wanstead, on the 5th
of October, 1874, sincerely lamented by all who enjoyed the pleasure and
advantage of his friendship. He was the seventh son, and the tenth and
youngest child, of Mr. John Walker, a gentleman of independent fortune,
residing at Arno’s Grove, Southgate, where the subject cf this memoir
was born on the 31st of July, 1809. Mr. Walker—the father—had a
decided taste for science, especially Natural History ; he was a fellow of
the Royal and Horticultural Societies, and vice-president of the Linnean,
so that his son’s almost boyish propensity for studies, in which he after-
wards became so eminent, seems to have been inherited rather than
acquired.
Mr. Walker's decided talent for observing noteworthy facts in Ento-
mology was first exhibited at home, when, as a mere child, his attention
was attracted by the butterflies, which, in the fruit season, came to feed on
the ripe plums and apricots in his father’s gardens ; Vanessa C-Album is
especially mentioned ; and Limenitis Sibydla, another species no longer
found in the vicinity of London, was then common at Southgate.
In 1816 Mr. Walker’s parents were staying with their family at Geneva,
then the centre of a literary coferie, in which they met, among other
celebrities. Lord Byron, Madame de Stael, and the naturalists De Saussure
and Vernet. They spent more than a year at Geneva and Vevey, and in
1818 proceeded to Lucerne, from which place Francis, then a boy nine
256 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
years of age, made the ascent of Mont Pilatus, in company with his elder.
brother Henry; their object, in addition to the ever delightful one of
mountain-climbing, being the collecting of butterflies. | The family after-
wards visited Neuwied, and returned to Arno’s Grove in 1820.
In 1830 the two brothers, Henry and Francis, again visited the
Continent, and now it was purely an Entomological tour, the late Mr.
Curtis, the well-known author of ‘ British Entomology,’ being their com-
panion. ‘This party collected most assiduously in the island of Jersey, and
afterwards at Fontainebleau, Montpellier, Lyons, Nantes, Vaucluse, &c.,
the French Satyridz, of which they formed very fine collections, being
their principal object. j
Mr. Walker’s career as an author commenced in 1832. Hecontnbuted
to the first number of the ‘Entomological Magazine,’ the introductory
chapter of his ‘ Monographia Chalciditum, a work on the minute parasitic
Hymenoptera—a tribe of insects which he ever afterwards studied with
the most assiduous attention, and one on which he immediately became
the leading authority. He was then only twenty-three years of age ; but
his writings exhibited a depth of research and maturity of judgment which
have rarely been excelled, and which abundantly evince the time and
talent he had already devoted to these insects. It is worthy of notice
that he now descended from the largest and most showy to the smallest
and least conspicuous of insects, doubtless feeling that whereas among
the magnificent butterflies there was little opportunity for the discovery of
novelties, among the Chalcidites everything was new—everything required
that minute, patient, and laborious investigation in which he seemed so
especially to delight. Only two authors, Dalrnan and Spinola, had pre-
ceded him in devoting their attention to the structure of these atoms of
creation ; and even these two had described comparatively a very small
number of species.
In 1834 Mr. Walker, somewhat reluctantly, consented to undertake
the editorial management of the ‘ Entomological Magazine,’ and resigned
this office the following year, yet continued a constant contributor to its
pages. The same year he visited Lapland, in company with two of our
most distinguished botanists ; and in this extreme north of Europe, and
especially at Alten and Hammerfest, he assiduously collected insects, more
particularly the northérn Diptera, the Satyridee among Lepidoptera, and
the Chalcididze amongst Hymenoptera. During this journey we have the
first and only notice of his prowess as a sportsman: he shot wild grouse
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 257
and ptarmigan ; and on one solitary occasion was accessory to the death
of a reindeer, but as other rifles besides his own were simultaneously
discharged, it is difficult to say whose was the effective bullet. I am glad
to be able to record that Mr. Walker declined to give the poor creature
the coup de grace, and, for this especial purpose, resigned to another his
coutcau de chasse.
In May, 1840, he married Mary Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Mr.
Ford, of Ellell Hall, near Lancaster, and spent the summer on the Con-
tinent, again collecting in Switzerland with his customary assiduity.
In 1848 he explored the Isle of Thanet, the following year the Isle of
Wight, and succeeding years, 1850 and 1851, he visited Geneva and
Interlachen ; and during the former year commenced his great work on
Diptera. This formed part of a projected series of works on British
insects, to be called ‘Insecta Britannica,’ a project in which the late Mr.
Spence took a deep interest.
During the year 1851 was published the first volume of the ‘ Diptera.’
This work is printed in 8vo., and contained 314 pages ; the second volume
appeared in 1853, and contained 298 pages; and the third volume in
1856, and contained 352 pages. Thus the entire work comprised nearly
1000 pages of closely-printed descriptions.
Another tour on the Continent occupied a considerable portion of
1857, Mr. Walker visiting Calais, Rouen, Paris, Strasbourg, Baden-Baden,
Heidelberg, Wiesbaden, Frankfort, Mayence, Cologne, Brussels, Aix-la-
‘Chapelle, and Antwerp. During the journey he collected in the Black
Forest ; and this is the only scene of his scientific labours, during the
tour, of which I have any intelligence.
The summer of 1860 was devoted to a thorough exploration of the
Channel Islands. Dr. Bowerbank was his companion during a portion
of the time, and, as a consequence, the sponges of these islands were a
main object of research—the Gouliot caves in Sark, so celebrated for
their marine productions—were a great attraction to both naturalists.
In 1861 Mr. Walker’s excursions were chiefly confined to North
Devon; he visited Linton. Clovelly, Ilfracombe, Bideford, and Barn-
staple : and now his attention seems to have been again chiefly occupied
with Lepidoptera, at the scarcity of which he was greatly disappointed,
having expected, from the extensive woods, to have found moths particu-
larly abundant. ;
958 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
In 1863 he toured the English lakes; and, in the spring of 1865,
North Wales and Ireland; and in the autumn he again visited Paris,
Geneva, Lucerne, Interlachen, and Altdorf, ascending the Righi, Mont
Pilatus and the Miirren, and proceeding to Kandersteg, the Oeschinen
See, and the Gemmi Pass.
In 1867 we find him again in France and Switzerland, ascending the
Col de Voza, and examining the Jardin of the Mer de Glace ; thence over
the Téte Noir to Martigny, Sion, and the Great St. Bernard ; returning by
St. Maurice and the Villeneuve to Geneva.
In 1869 he made the tour of the Isle of Man, and returned by Holy-
head ; in 1870 he paid another visit to Llanberis, as well as to all the more
beautiful scenery in North Wales, crossing over to Ireland, and touring
that island from south to north ; and in 1871 he examined Entomologically
the Scilly Islands, and the districts of the Lizard and the Land’s End.
In 1872 he turned his attention to Italy, visiting Rome, Piza, Lueca,.
Florence, Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Milan, and Venice, as well as the Lakes.
of Como and Maggiore.
And, finally, in the present year, he had again proceeded as far as
Aberystwith, on his way to Ireland, when his intention was frustrated by
illness, which terminated fatally on the 5th of October. He died in the
most perfect peace of body and of mind. For many years Mr. Walker
was a member of the Linnean and Entomological Societies of London,
but resigned his membership in both some time before the close of his.
life.
It might be excusable in a man of such incessant bodily activity—so:
locomotive by inclination, so devoted to the study of Nature in all her
aspects, so dilligent a collector of the objects of his favourite study—had
he allowed his pen to rest while his hands were engaged in forming and
arranging his collections. But this was not the case with Mr. Walker, as.
his Catalogues of the National Collection abundantly testify. Of the
Lepidoptera Heterocera, alone, Mr. Walker catalogued and described
upwards of twenty-three thousand species ; in addition to which he pre-
pared similar catalogues, although perhaps not to the same extent, of the
Diptera, Orthoptera, Homoptera, Neuroptera, and part of the Hymen-
optera : such an amount of labour, as is testified by these catalogues, has
seldom, if ever, been accomplished by one individual. But this statement
by no means represents the whole of his literary labours. He contributed
THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 2.59:
shorter or longer papers to the Transactions of learned societies, and to
the periodicals of the day, especially to the ‘ Zoologist’ and ‘ Entomolo-
gist ;’ by the indexes of the latter I find he sent thirteen communications
to the first volume, three to the second, one to the fourth, thirteen to the
fifth, and forty-three to the sixth; during the present year his writings
appear in every number. I intended to catalogue these and his other
labours, to give some idea of the number of pages, number of species and
dates of each; but I can scarcely now venture to look forward to the
accomplishment of this labour of love.
A word remains to be spoken of the man apart from the scientific and
accomplished naturalist. Throughout my long life I have never met with
anyone who possessed more correct, more diversified, or more general
information, or who imparted that information to others with greater
readiness and kindness ; I have never met with any one more unassuming,
more utterly unselfish, more uniformly kind and considerate to all with
whom he came in contact. It is no ordinary happiness to have enjoyed
the friendship of such a man for nearly half a century.—Zdward Newman
in The Entomologist.
CORRESPONDENCE.
ON CIRRC2DIA PAMPINA Guen.
DEAR SIR,—
In the list of the North American Noctuide published in the Bulletin
of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, we find the familiar name of
Cirredia Guen. replaced by Atcthmia Hubn. We are unable to see the
necessity of this change. Afethmia was founded by Hubner in the
Verzeichniss (1816) on
x erampelina Hb.
ambusta W. V.
subusta Hb.
Gueneée, in his “ Zssai sur les Noctuélites,’ printed in the Annals of
the French Entomological Society for 1839, p. 489, takes out x. crampelina,
which is congeneric with our fampina as well as the European améusta,
placing it in the genus Cirredia. In 1852, the same author in the “ Species
Général,” vol. 6, p. 12, defines Athetmia (which he spells as in the index,
not the text of the “ Verzeichniss”), referring subusta as the typical
260 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST.
species, and adding another, zwusfa, to the genus, both of these species
being native in South America.
This being the synonymy of the two genera,we would retain Cirredia
for our well known form. H. K. Morrison, Cambridge, Mass.
BOOK NOTICES:
Manuscript Notes from my Journal, or Illustrations of Insects, Native
and Foreign Diptera, by Townend Glover, Washington, D. C.
We sincerely thank the author of this valuable work for his great
kindness in placing us on the list of the favored few among whom the
first small edition of forty-five copies of the above work has been dis-
tributed. ‘This work is unique in several respects. It is a fac simile of
the author’s own note book on this family of insects, written by the author
himself on prepared paper, then transferred to stone and printed on a
lithographic press. ‘The costliness of the paper required for this purpose
and the fact that it can only be used on one side, adds much to the
expense of issuing this work, which expense has been borne entirely by
the author. Such generosity and disinterestedness in the interests of our
favorite science is deserving of the highest commendation.
The work is published in quarto form, and opens with three pages of
introductory matter, followed by thirteen plates, containing no less than
480 excellent illustrations of Dipterous insects in their various stages, or
of parts of these insects, accompanied by suitable explanatory lists of
names, &c. The labor on these plates alone, all of which is the work
of this pains-taking and laborious Entomologist, is something enormous,
and this, to our knowledge, is but a fraction of the work he has accom-
plished in this department during the past few years. ‘The next 59 pages
are occupied by an alphabetical list of the families and genera of Diptera,
with synonyms, habitat, food, &c. Then a list of predaceous or parasitic
Diptera ; vegetable and animal substances inhabited, injured or destroyed
by Diptera, &c., &c, A valuable practical portion of the work is the
enumeration and description of various remedies which have been
suggested to guard against the injuries caused by these insects. Each
division of the work throughout is arranged alphabetically and in the most
convenient manner, so as to enable the student to refer readily to any,
portion he may desire.
Notices of other books received will appear in our next.
INDEX TO VOLUME VI.
A . | A Thirsty Spider, 119
Acronyeta lepusculina, 154 ie eis dee
perdita, 154
Adisophanes miscelius, 16
Aeaean. g., 73
“* ostryaeella, n. sp., 74
Agrotis, On Two Species of, 131
alternata, 214
attentus, n. sp., 131
badinodis, n. sp., 13
B
yee, Rev. C. J, 8., Articles by, 159, 160, 181,
20
Behrens, James, Article by, 1
Boarmia larvaria, On the Larva of, 32
Book Notices, 260
ee
cS Cochranii, 214 Books Received, 77
Ba collaris, 13 Brief Notice, 199
Ws conflua, 71 British Association, Meeting of, 160
= fennica, 19, 155. Bucculatrix pomifoliella, 231
ee fuscigerus, 155 Bulletin Buff. Soc. Nat. Sci., 99
ee
gilvipennis, 71
Hollemani, 156
lyearum, 155
Bunker, Robert, Article by, 25
Butalis basilaris, 8
se flavifrontella, 8
perattentus, n. sp., 131 se fuscicomella, &
Alypia Langtonii, 70 ¥
| matutella, $
Amadria Clemensella, n. Sp , 232 | Butterflies, European, Food Plants of, 21, 126
American Association, Meeting of, 160, 161, 185 Butterflies of North America, 98, 120 »
Amphipyra pyramidoides, 27
Anarsia suffusella, n. sp., 248 c
“ trimaculella, i. sp., 243
Anatrichis minuta, 135
|
Andrews, W. V., Articles by, 16, 145 Caloptenus spretus, 185 _
Anesychia mirusella* n. sp., 233 Captures Interesting, 140
es multipunctella, rn, sp., 233 | Catocalas, Notes on, 25
_ Anisopteryx pometaria, 29 | Catocala aspasia, 199
= vernata, 29 “< Whitneyt,n. sp., 125
Annual Address, President’s, 181 “<< magdalina, 199
‘* Meeting Ent, Soc., 199 «* relicta, 100
a «© ~~ London Branch, 38 | ‘© —ultronia, Larva of, 147
** Report, Riley’s 6th, 140 | Caterpillars, On Preserving by Inflation, 107
Anthrax analis, 176 | Caulfield, F. B., Articles ‘119, 132
‘* bastardi, 176
“e
} | Ceramica, New "Species of, "249
fulvina, 177 ot rubefacta, nr. sp., 249
- fuscipennis, 176 | Cerastis alternata, 15
** terminipennis, 176 Ceratocampa regalis, 147
Antispila, 166, 197 Chambers, V.'T., Articles by, 8, 49, 72, 96, 128
.
Oe
aimpelopsiella, n. sp., 197 149, 166, 197, 217, 229.
4 ampelopsifoliella, i. sp., 168 Chilocorus bivuimerus, 85
‘s cornifoliella, 166, 198 | Chionobas, 55
Pe hydrangacella, n. sp., 170 | Chrysopeleia, n. g., 72
o* isabella, 167, et ss pce oarice SDs. he
ie a dihgechleye , 168, 198 Chrysops carbonarius, 178
Aphis Excretion, use of, | Cirroedia pampina, 259
Arctia arge, 98 | Cleodora, 244
« porealis, 70 ‘ pallidastrigella, n. sp., 244
** rubricosa, 158 } “
pallidella, n. sp., 245
Clisiocampa syivatica, 158
| Coccinella bipunctata, 83
“é
virgo, 155
virguncula, 7[
Argyresthia andereggiella, 10 ss munda, 84
apici-maculella, n. sp., 11 eS novemnotata, $3
ae oreasella, 10 | ‘ trifasciata, 84
oe undulatella, i. sp , 10 Coccinellidae, On the, 81
Argynnis cybele, aphrodite and diana, Notes on {| Coleophora, 128
Larva of, 1 21 | ss aeneusella, n. sp , 128
ry Aspidisca, 149, | sé argenti-albella, 1. Sp., 129
diospy ie ‘olla, nN. Sp. 217 | auropurpuriella, i. sp., 130
‘s ella, 152,°219 ciliae-ochrella, ni. sp., 129
ee epeacele. nN. sp., 151, 219 Fagicosticella, n. sp., 129
sf lucifluella, 152, 153, 219 “6 gigantella, n. sp., 128
gh salidiella, n.sp., 151 | a linea-pulvella, n. sp., 130
4 splendoriferella, 149, 151, 153, 217 | ss rufo-luteella, n. sp., 129
y
962 INDEX TO VOLUME VI.
Coleophora wiicolorella, i. sp., 129
ee Zeller ees nN sp., 128
Coleopter a, List of,
of Anticosti, 137
* Colias philodice, 38, 92
Collecting Lepidoptera, Notes on, 114
Colorado Potato Beetle, 160, 183
Commou In-ects, On some of our, 2, 27, 46, 67,
$1. 101; 138, 141, 227
Conops sagittaria, 177
Correspondence, 18, 37, 60, 119. 178, 199, 259
Couper, Wm., Ar ticles by, 33, 37, 55, 91, 137
Correction, 80
Cressonia juglandis, 171, 178
Crinus scrophulariae, 157
c rotch, G. R., Letter from, 20
: Death of, 160
Cynthia cardui, 38
-D
Death of Francis Walker, 220, 255
Depressaria dubitella, Larva of, 221
Desmocerus pa liavus. 140
Dianthoecia niveiguttata, 214
ue pensilis, 215
Diptera, Canadian, Stray Notes on, 176
“* The Families of, 11
“< Prof. Glover’s New Work on, 260
Dodge, G. M , Articles by, 44, 114, 125
Dor yphor a decemlineata, 183
Dryocampa rubicunda, 220
Dryope, n. g., 49 |
“ — Murtfeldtella, n. sp., 50
Dysauxes mediastina, 119
Dysodea, 171
E
Eacles imperiatis, 17, 87, 146
Editorial, 1
a Summary, 78, 98, 120, 140
Edwards, W. H., Articles by, 20, 121, 157
Elachista praematurela, 76.
Eljopia ribearia, 138
Entomological Collecting Tour, 59
“ Contributions, Lintner’s, 120
be Notes, 145 |
cs Readings, 16 |
Erebia nepuele, 140
Eristalis infiexus, 177
‘““ nebulosus, 177 |
‘* sincerus, 177
Errata, 153
Eudamus tityrus, 140
Eudryas grata, 180 |
Eurois occulta, 13, 71
Evolenes impressus, 136
Exapate congelatella, 145
Explanatory, 178
F |
Formica flava, Observations on, 63
G |
Gastropacha Americana, 158
Geddes, Gamble, Article by, 67 |
Gelechia aequaepulvella, 230, 331
¢¢ argenti-albella, n, sp., 241
bidiscomaculella, 1. sp., 241
cercerisella, 230, 231
Gelechia cilialineella, 1 sp., 242
costa-rufoella, n. sp., 240
crescentifasciella, i. Sp., a
depresso-strigella, i. sp., 23k
disco-ocele.la, 231
eleqgantella, i. sp., 239
lavernella, i sp., 242
maculimarginella, n. sp., 241
minimaculella, n. sp., 235
minimella, 2. sp., 243
ochveo-suffusella, ni. sp. rn
pallidagrissella, i. sp , 23
parvipulvella, i. sp., 249
plutella, n. sp., 238 -
pullusella, n. sp., 237
quadrimaculella, n. sp., 237
roseo-suffusella, 231
rubenselia, Larva of, 222
ae rufusella, i. sp , 240
ee sella, n. sp., 238
ee subalbusella, n. sp., 242
a subruberella, n. sp., 240
i thorace-albella, n. sp., 235
trimaculella, i. sp., 238
«s Wacoella, n. sp., 237
Gentry, Thomas G , Articles by, 5, 41, 68, 85,171
Geometrid Moths, Packard’s Monograph of, 220
Grapta comma, 157
ee dryas, 94, 157
BS progne, 37
Grote, A. R., Articles by, 13, 69, 115, 131, 154, 170,
78, 180, 199, 214
H
Hadena cariosa, 15
os conmgermand, i, Sp., 106
ss divesta, 215
ss fractilinea, 15
Hagen, Dr, H,, Artic e by, 163
Hagno faginella, 231, 232
Hamadryas Bassettella, 231
Harpalyce, n. g.t 284
a albella, n, sp., 235
es canusella, iv. sp., 235
“a tortricella, sa &p., 230
Heliophila commoides, 72
Hemiptera, Catalogue of, 99
Hesperia bathy lus, 140
a oiieus, 140
Ss paunee,n, sp., 44
i zabulon, 140
Hipp: ydamia convergens, 84
macu ata, 84
parenthesis, 84
% 13-punctata, 84
Holcecera chaicofrontel.a, 246
SG Clemensella, n. sp., 246
i glandule la, 231
Huydracecia semiaperta, n. sp., 105
I
Insects and Flowers, 206
es Purchase of, 200
K
Kirby, W. F., Article by, 196
i
Lachnocrepis parallelus, 135
Lachnosterna quercina, 67, 158
“et
INDEX TO VOLUME VI.
Law of Priority, 201
Leconte, Dr. John L., Articles by, 186, 201, 223
Lepidoptera, Co ection of in Anticosti, 69
Discrepancies in Recent Lists of, 196
Lepidopterous Larvae, Supposed New Species of,
41
Lepidopterous Larvae, Variations in Coloration,
85
Leucania pseudargyria, Larva of, 132
Limenitis arthemis, 38
x disippus, 46
oy ephestion, 38
List of 1868, Notes on, 170
Lithocolletis crataegella, 150
Luperina reniformis, in. sp., 14
Lyman, H. H., Articles by, 38, 158, 220
M
Macroglossa famosa, 199
Mamestra cinnabarina, 156
25 cuneata, 156
xe nimbosa, 13
$$ renigera, 132
Matuta, n. g., 116
“e eatherina, 116
Megachile centuncu aris, 171
Melitaea phaeton, 159
- tharos, 149
Melsheimer, Dr., Death of, 39
Micro-Lepidoptera, 8,49, 72, 96, 128, 149, 166, 197,
217
Miscellaneous, 220
“¢ Notes, 158
Morris, Dr, Beverly R., Article by, 176
Morrison, H. K , Articles by, 29, 105, 249, 251,
259
Montreal Branch, Organization of, 59
ee Anpual Meeting of, 118
cc Annual Repert of, 133
Murtfeldt, Mary E., Article by, 241
Mycetophilidae, Synopsis of European, 111
Mysia 15-punctata, 84
N
Nature, 160
Neda, n. g., 248
‘“ plutella iv. sp., 244
Nematus ventricosus, 101
Nepticula microtherieella, 152
Neurvuptera, List of, 45
Nisoniades catullus, 140
Noctua alternata, 15
<< cupida, 16
Noctuae, New Canadian, 115
Noctuidae, Notes on, 13
“ On two new Species of, 105
se Grote’s List of, 120
as of California, Preliminary List of, 154,
214
Nomenclature, on, 18
Ee of Coleoptera, on some Changes |
Recently ie ge 186
4 Entomological, 201, 223
Norman, George; Article by, 19
Northern Butterflies, Dissertation on, 33, 55, 91
Nothris griseella, n, sp., 240
O
Obituary, 39, 255
Ochria sauzalitae, 216
263
Oenoe, n. g., 50
* hybromella, n. sp., 51
Oodii of Louisiana, on Species of, 135
Oodes amaroides, 135
‘“* americanus, 135
“« cupraeus, 136
** elegans, 135
“* fluvialis, 135
“© 14-striatus, 136
“© Lecontei, 136
‘* texanus, 136
Orthodes, On Species Referred to by Guenee, 251
ro eynica 252
es nimia, 252
as infirma, 252
P
Paleontology af Ontario, 159
Papilio brevicauda, 20, 33
“© marcellus, 140
‘* thoas, 39, 140
‘* troilus, 140
se 6turnus, 2, 91, 140, 158
‘Linnean Signification of the Generic Term,
143, 163
Peabody, Prof. S. H , Article by, 98
Pearson, C TT ioe from, 119
Pelidnota punctata, 141
Perigrapha, 250
Ce Norman,
Per imede, g.. 51
erranselld, it SP.y 52 ~
Pettit, J., Article by, 45
Phalaenide of California, 78
Philampelus Syeer ae 39, 158
Philonoiie, nN. Js. 96 *
os Clemensella, n. sp., 97
Phragmatobia rubricosa, 71
Phylioxera vastatrix, 79, 185
Phyciodes marcia, 159
Phy locnistis vitigene.la, 169
Pieris frigida, 56 .
*- oleracea. 56
s* rapae, 36, 37 57, 60, 184
Platarctia parthenos, 70
Platysamia co umbia, 119
Placodes cinereo a, 16
Platythiris, 171
ss oculatana, 171
Plu etla cruciferarum, 230, 232
Plusia gamm +, 16
Polyhynino a, g.. 246
a luteostrigella, it. Sp., 247
a6 sexstrigella, 1, Sp., 248
Polyommatus americanus, 140
Pseudorthodes, ni g., 253
oY yecors, 253
Nn, Sp. 115
Psyche, 99, 120
Pteromalus puparam, 37
Pyrameis atalanta, 38
Q
Quarterly Journal of Science, 77
Reed, E. sis , Article by, 227
Riley, C .. Article by, 207
LOYeYS, R. V., Article by, 81
INDEX TO
S
Saperda moesta, Notes on Larva of, 61
Sarcophaga sarraceniae, 209
Sarracenia variolaris, Insects Associated with, 207
Saturnia io, 227
Saunders, W., Articles by, 1,2, 27, 32, 38, 46, 59,
60, 61,77, 98, 101, 120,’ 138, 140, 141. 147,
161, 199, 260
Scottish Naturalist, 159
Scudder, S. H., Articles by, 21 107, 126, 143
Sesia diffinis, 171
** ruticaudis, 170
Signs to Denote Sex, 130
Sinoe ambrosiaeella, 9
Sphinx eremitoides, 199
. 5-maculata, 83, 147
Stratiomis ischiaca, 177
Stretch, R. H., Article by, 119
Summer shtse Ve. Articles by gD asilce
Synonyimical Note. 180
Syrphus Ribesii, 177
5° agnon, 177
Syritta proxima, 177
cjg
Tachina apicifera, 177
) finitima. 177
oS aterans, 177 |
Taeniocampa, 250
Telea polyphemus, 86
Telesilla cinereola, 16
Testimonial to C. V. Riley, 7S
Thyreus Abbotti, 146
as nessus, 140
rane y
OP ¥
SCIENG pM
Wire
VOLUME VI.
Theisod, 2. guy 75
ef bifasciella, n, sp., 76
Tinea obscurostrigella, n. sp., 232
Tineina from Texas, 229 -
Tischeria malifoliella, 150
To Our Patrons, 60
Trichius bidens, 140
U
Urania Druryi, 180
ee rhipeus, 180
Wi
Vanessa antiopa, 146
s¢ G-album, 60
BH
3
Walker, Francis, Articles by, 31, 1
Xanthoptera semicrocea, 208
Xylophasia eariosa, 15
Y
Ypsolophus eupatoriella, 230
L
Zygaenidae and Bombyeidae, Mlustrations of, 77
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